Virginia Giuffre, alleged victim of Prince Andrew’s sexual abuse, speaks: “The rich and powerful are not above the law”

Virginia Giuffre, the alleged victim of sexual abuse by Prince Andrew of England, came out of her silence in recent months by writing on her Twitter account that she welcomes Judge Lewis Kaplan’s decision to move forward with the case against him. son of Queen Elizabeth II. From Australia, where he has lived for years, Giuffre said that he intends only to “seek justice against those who hurt me, and so many others”.

“My purpose has always been to show that the rich and the powerful are not above the law and they must be held accountable (for their actions),” she says in a series of tweets. In addition to showing her gratitude to her “extraordinary legal team” (headed by prestigious lawyer David Boies), she says she feels accompanied: “I’m not going this I walk alone, but alongside countless other survivors of sexual abuse and trafficking.

Giuffre introduces herself on her account as the “founder” of an NGO called “Soar” (stands for “raise your voice, act, claim”) that claims to “advocate for victims of trafficking.” The woman, who is now 38 years old, claims Prince Andrew abused her when she was 17 on at least three occasions, in different homes that the tycoon Jeffrey Epstein (who committed suicide before being tried) made available to his friend the prince.

Andrés has always denied these facts and has said he does not know Giuffre, despite the fact that the media have widely spread an old photograph in which he appears holding the young woman by the waist. In the background of that photograph you can see Ghislaine Maxwell, recently found guilty by a New York jury of being Epstein’s matchmaker in four cases of sexual abuse against as many young women, and who awaits the judge’s sentence.

Precisely, one of the young women who testified in the trial against Maxwell quoted his then-friend Virginia Giuffre on numerous occasions, who seemed to be a regular at the mansions Epstein owned and who introduced several female friends of his to Epstein at the latter’s request. The trial against Prince Andrew still has no date, while rumors grow in the United Kingdom that the prince, who was stripped of all his military titles on Thursday and is separated from the British royal house, could seek an out-of-court settlement that avoid the humiliation of a public trial.

However, Boies told the BBC in recent days that his client is not seeking financial compensation: “A simple financial arrangement, it’s not something I think you’re interested in –He said–. I think that what is going to be important is that this (judicial) resolution does justice to him and does justice to his complaint.”