Prince Andrew’s lawyers implore judge to dismiss sex-abuse lawsuit

Prince Andrew has asked a US judge to dismiss a civil lawsuit accusing him of the sexual abuse of an underage girl more than two decades ago.

In a filing with the US District Court in Manhattan on Friday, the Duke of York said the case should be dismissed because accuser Virginia Giuffre failed to state a claim warranting relief.

He said that if dismissal was not granted, Giuffre should provide a “more definitive statement” of her allegations.

Lawyers for Giuffre did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Giuffre, 38, sued the prince in August, accusing him of forcing her to have sex when she was 17 at the London home of Ghislaine Maxwell, a longtime associate of the late financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Giuffre also accused Andrew of abusing her at Epstein’s mansion in Manhattan, and on one of Epstein’s private islands in the US Virgin Islands.

Andrew, 61, a former friend of Epstein, has not been charged with crimes, and has “categorically” denied Giuffre’s claims.

The prince gave up many royal duties and lost support from charities and organisations after a disastrous November 2019 BBC interview in which he did not appear sympathetic toward Epstein’s victims.

Epstein’s confidential payout

Andrew’s filings included a 2009 settlement agreement between Giuffre and Epstein, which was filed under seal.

At a hearing last month, the prince’s lawyer Andrew Brettler told US District Judge Lewis Kaplan, who oversees Giuffre’s case, that he believed the settlement agreement “absolves our client from any and all liability”.

David Boies, one of Giuffre’s lawyers, has said he considered the agreement “irrelevant” to Giuffre’s case.

The next hearing is scheduled for November 3.

Giuffre was sued separately for $US20 million ($A27 million) on Thursday for allegedly defaming on Twitter an artist who has said she brought women to Epstein but denied being a recruiter.

The artist, Rina Oh Amen, sued over tweets including that she “procured & partook in the abuse of minors”.

Amen called the tweets “maliciously false,” and said Epstein also abused her.

Epstein was found dead at the age of 66 in a Manhattan jail in August 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.

Maxwell, 59, has pleaded not guilty to sex trafficking and other charges for allegedly helping recruit and groom underage girls for Epstein to abuse between 1994 and 2004.

Her trial begins on November 29.

-AAP