Newly unsealed court documents have revealed that Prince Andrew spent several weeks at the Florida mansion belonging to disgraced financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. According to the evidence, Prince Andrew occupied the guest bedroom and was provided daily massages while at the property. The allegations form part of a federal lawsuit filed in 2015 by one of Epstein’s accusers, Virginia Giuffre, against Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein’s former girlfriend. Mr Alessi, who functioned as the manager of Epstein’s Palm Beach residence, testified in 2009 that Prince Andrew and his ex-wife, Sarah Ferguson, had been introduced to Epstein and Maxwell in the early 2000s. The alleged massages have previously been denied by Prince Andrew, who has also denied any wrongdoing.
The evidence also details Epstein’s tactics for finding victims to exploit sexually. For instance, Tony Figueroa, a former partner of Ms Giuffre, stated in his testimony that Epstein and Maxwell paid $200 for each girl brought to the mansion. Figueroa stated that his job was to find and drive teenage girls to Epstein’s house, where he often saw other young women. According to the documents, the girls underwent brief conversation with Maxwell in the kitchen before proceeding upstairs to provide a massage. Quizzed about whether any of the girls were certified masseuses, Figueroa replied with a firm “Nope”.
The evidence also contained allegations of sexual relations between Prince Andrew and an accuser in Maxwell’s London apartment, in New York City, and on Epstein’s private resort in the US Virgin Islands. Prince Andrew’s alleged involvement in sexual misconduct towards minors has been widely reported in the past, though he has always maintained his innocence.
Ms Giuffre has claimed in her testimony that Prince Andrew knew she was underage at the time of their encounters, which took place in a variety of settings between 1999 and 2002. Buckingham Palace has denied these allegations, stating that “any suggestion of impropriety with underage minors is categorically untrue”.
Donald Trump and Bill Clinton were mentioned in the documents as acquaintances of Epstein, though neither has been accused of any wrongdoing in connection with the allegations. The documents also contained accusations of Epstein’s use of enormous sums of money to influence politicians and other public figures.
Epstein was jailed in 2008 for soliciting prostitution from a minor, but his insightful use of wealth and power allowed him to avoid severe penalties and keep almost all of his assets despite numerous allegations of misconduct. He died in prison in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges
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