Jeffrey Epstein‘s alleged victims
have urged Prince Andrew to co-operate with an inquiry into the financier.
Attorney Lisa Bloom, representing
five women who say they were abused by the financier, said Jeffrey Epstein’s accusers were “outraged”
by the Duke of York not assisting the US authorities.
It comes after the prosecutor in charge
of the US investigation said Prince Andrew had provided “zero
co-operation”.
The prince has said he did not
witness or suspect any suspicious behavior during visits to Jeffrey Epstein’s
homes.
Prince Andrew has come under fire for his friendship with Jeffrey Epstein – a convicted sex offender who took his own life in a jail cell in August at the age of 66, while awaiting trial on trafficking and conspiracy charges.
Last November, the prince said that
he was willing to help the authorities into the investigation of Jeffrey Epstein.
However, attorney Geoffrey Berman
said prosecutors and the FBI have received no reply after contacting Prince
Andrew’s lawyers.
Linda Bloom said the duke should “do the right thing”.
Buckingham Palace said Prince Andrew’s legal team was dealing with the issue
and it would not be commenting further.
Another lawyer representing some of Jeffrey Epstein’s accusers, Gloria Allred, said she had sent a letter to Prince Andrew’s home urging him to co-operate but hadn’t received a response.
Prince Andrew has opened up for the first time
to defend his former friendship with US financier Jeffrey Epstein, saying
“at no stage” did he “see or suspect” any criminal behavior.
Jeffrey Epstein, 66, took his own life in a jail cell this month while
awaiting trial on trafficking charges.
In a statement, Prince Andrew said he wanted to “clarify the
facts” around his “former association or friendship” with
Epstein.
The Duke of York, 59, said it was a “mistake” to meet Epstein
after he left prison in 2010.
He said: “During the time I knew
him, I saw him infrequently and probably no more than only once or twice a year.
“I have stayed in a number of his
residences. At no stage during the limited time I spent with him did I see,
witness or suspect any behavior of the sort that subsequently led to his arrest
and conviction.”
Prince Andrew – who said he first met Jeffrey Epstein in 1999 – added that
he had “tremendous sympathy” for all those affected by Epstein’s
behavior.
The duke said: “His suicide has
left many unanswered questions and I acknowledge and sympathize with everyone
who has been affected and wants some form of closure.”
Allegations against Jeffrey Epstein
began to surface in 2005 when the parents of a 14-year-old girl told police in
Florida he had molested their daughter at his Palm Beach home.
The financier was accused of paying
underage girls to perform s** acts at his Manhattan and Florida mansions
between 2002 and 2005.
A controversial secret plea deal saw
Jeffrey Eptstein plead guilty to a lesser charge of soliciting a minor for
prostitution. The tycoon received an 18-month prison sentence and was released
on probation in 2010.
Prince Andrew was photographed with Jeffrey
Epstein in New York’s Central Park in late 2010 – after the financier was
released from jail.
Footage has also emerged reportedly
showing Prince Andrew at Epstein’s mansion in Manhattan in 2010.
In the statement, released on August 24, the prince added: “I have said previously that it was a
mistake and an error to see him after his release in 2010 and I can only
reiterate my regret that I was mistaken to think that what I thought I knew of
him was evidently not the real person, given what we now know.
“This is a difficult time for everyone
involved and I am at a loss to be able to understand or explain Mr. Epstein’s
lifestyle.
“I deplore the exploitation of
any human being and would not condone, participate in, or encourage any such
behavior.”
In July 2019, Jeffrey Epstein was charged in New York with further
allegations of trafficking and conspiracy and was due to face trial next year.
Jeffrey pleaded not guilty to all the charges but if convicted, was facing up to 45 years in prison.
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