Prince Andrew settles civil sexual assault case
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Prince Andrew settles civil sexual assault case

PRINCE ANDREW has settled the civil sexual assault case that was brought against him by Virginia Giuffre.

Ms Giuffre had been suing the Duke of York after she claimed he sexually assaulted her on three separate occasions when she was 17 years old.

The Prince denied all the allegations.

Court documents from Tuesday show he and Ms Giuffre had reached an out-of-court settlement of an undisclosed sum.

In a letter to US judge Lewis A Kaplan, Ms Giuffre's lawyer David Boies wrote jointly with Prince Andrew's lawyers to say the pair had reached "a settlement in principle".

"The parties will file a stipulated dismissal upon Ms Giuffre’s receipt of the settlement (the sum of which is not being disclosed)," a statement said. "Prince Andrew intends to make a substantial donation to Ms Giuffre’s charity in support of victims’ rights.

"Prince Andrew has never intended to malign Ms. Giuffre’s character, and he accepts that she has suffered both as an established victim of abuse and as a result of unfair public attacks.

"It is known that Jeffrey Epstein trafficked countless young girls over many years."

The statement said the duke "regrets his association with Epstein, and commends the bravery of Ms Giuffre and other survivors in standing up for themselves and others."

"He pledges to demonstrate his regret for his association with Epstein by supporting the fight against the evils of sex trafficking, and by supporting its victims."

Reports speculate that the sum of the settlement could run into millions of pounds.

Lisa Bloom, a lawyer who represents eight other victims of Jeffrey Epstein said about the settlement:

"We hail Virginia's victory today. She was accomplished what no one else could: getting Prince Andre to stop his nonsense and side with sexual abuse victims.

"We salute Virginia's stunning courage."