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Prince Andrew and His Accuser in a Sex-Abuse Lawsuit Agree to Keep Some Evidence Secret

Prince Andrew and His Accuser in a Sex-Abuse Lawsuit Agree to Keep Some Evidence Secret

The woman accusing Prince Andrew of sexually abusing her as teenager is seeking the testimony of a woman who claimed to see the British royal with a young girl at a London nightclub two decades ago.

Virginia Giuffre on Friday asked for the testimony of Shukri Walker concerning what she saw at the Tramp nightclub in London in 2001. In her lawsuit against Andrew, Giuffre said she danced with him at a club after being taken there by Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell when she was 17. Giuffre claims she was later sexually abused by Andrew. 

“Because Prince Andrew has denied ever meeting plaintiff or being at Tramp Nightclub during the relevant time period, Ms. Walker’s testimony is highly relevant,” Giuffre’s lawyer Sigrid McCawley wrote in a letter to U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan in Manhattan. 

Giuffre, alleged in a lawsuit last year that the prince was one of the powerful men to whom Epstein “lent” her out for sexual abuse. Andrew has consistently denied the allegations, but Kaplan earlier this week allowed the lawsuit to go ahead. The judge declined to rule on Andrew’s argument that he was shielded by a 2009 settlement agreement between Giuffre and Epstein.

Returned Patronages

The day after Kaplan’s ruling, Andrew -- ninth in line to the British throne -- was stripped of his military affiliations and royal patronages. They were returned to his mother, Queen Elizabeth II.

Giuffre also seeks the testimony of Robert Olney, the prince’s former assistant, whose name was found in one of Epstein’s so-called Black Books. 

“Mr. Olney thus likely has relevant information about defendant’s travel to and from Jeffrey Epstein’s various properties during the relevant period, and his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, who Plaintiff alleges procured her for sex trafficking and forced her to engage in sex acts with defendant,” McCawley wrote. 

Giuffre seeks to take the testimony from Olney and Walker by April 29, 2022, according to the request.

Andrew and Giuffre on Friday also agreed to keep some evidence confidential in the case. 

That evidence may include medical or other health care records, social security numbers, personal phone numbers, banking information, names of alleged minor victims of abuse, and any other information given confidential status by the court.

The case is Giuffre v. Prince Andrew, 21-cv-06702, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York (Manhattan).

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