..
Sex abuse lawsuit against Prince Andrew can proceed — judge
Disgraced British royal now faces testimony or settlement in US lawsuit
A Manhattan court has given the go-ahead for Virginia Giuffre’s sexual assault case against the UK’s Prince Andrew. The prince’s lawyers had tried to have the case dismissed due to a settlement between Giuffre and Jeffrey Epstein.
US District Judge Lewis A. Kaplan ruled on Wednesday that Giuffre’s civil case against Andrew can move ahead to trial.
Giuffre claims that deceased pedophile Jeffrey Epstein and his recently-convicted girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell trafficked her to the Duke of York for sex on three separate occasions when she was 17 years old.
Earlier this month the prince’s legal team pressed Kaplan to dismiss the case, after it emerged that Epstein paid Giuffre $500,000 in a 2009 settlement, in which she agreed not to sue anyone linked to the convicted pedophile who could be a “potential defendant.”
Kaplan, however, sided with Giuffre’s lawyers, who argued that the agreement was only signed for Epstein’s benefit, not that of a “third party” like Andrew. As such, the prince’s motion to dismiss was “denied in all respects.”
Andrew denies the allegations, and has insisted that he doesn’t recall ever even meeting Giuffre. The royal maintained his denial even after being shown a photograph of himself and Giuffre together in London during a BBC interview in 2019. More recently he has accused Giuffre of seeking a “payday” from the case.
The trial now moves into what may be a lengthy phase of discovery and deposition, should the two parties fail to reach a settlement. During this phase, other members of the British royal family may be summoned to testify.
Prince Andrew loses military titles and use of HRH
Britain's Prince Andrew during the commemorative ceremony of the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Bruges, in Bruges, Belgium, 07 September 2019 (reissued 13 January 2022)
The Duke of York's military titles and royal patronages have been returned to the Queen, Buckingham Palace has said.
Prince Andrew, 61, will also stop using the style His Royal Highness in an official capacity, a royal source said.
It comes as he faces a US civil action over sexual assault allegations - claims he has consistently denied.
A source close to the duke said he would "continue to defend himself" against the case brought in New York by Virginia Giuffre.
A judge in the city ruled on Wednesday that the case brought by Ms Giuffre could continue, after the prince tried to have it dismissed.
Buckingham Palace said in a statement: "With the Queen's approval and agreement, the Duke of York's military affiliations and Royal patronages have been returned to the Queen.
"The Duke of York will continue not to undertake any public duties and is defending this case as a private citizen."
All Prince Andrew's roles have been returned to the Queen with immediate effect, and will be redistributed to other members of the Royal Family, a source said.
The issue had been widely discussed with the Royal Family, the source said.
Like Harry and Meghan, Prince Andrew retains his title HRH but will not use it in any official capacity.
A spokesperson for the Ministry of Defence said it had no comment about the duke's military titles being handed back to the Queen, and that it was a matter for the Palace.
On Thursday, a letter - released by anti-monarchy pressure group Republic - was signed by more than 150 Royal Navy, RAF and Army veterans asking the Queen to strip Prince Andrew of his eight British military titles.
The duke had a 22-year career in the Royal Navy, and served as a helicopter pilot during the Falklands War.
The latest Palace announcement means he has lost military titles including Colonel of the Grenadier Guards - one of the most senior infantry regiments in the British army.
The other UK military titles he no longer has include:
Honorary air commodore of RAF Lossiemouth
Colonel-in-chief of the Royal Irish Regiment
Colonel-in-chief of the Small Arms School Corps
Colonel-in-chief of The Royal Lancers (Queen Elizabeth's Own)
Colonel-in-chief of the Yorkshire Regiment
Colonel-in-chief of the Small Arms School Corps
Commodore-in-Chief of the Fleet Air Arm
Royal colonel of the Royal Highland Fusiliers
Royal colonel of the Royal Regiment of Scotland.
The duke will also lose several overseas honorary roles including colonel-in-chief of The Royal Highland Fusiliers Of Canada, colonel-in-chief of the Royal New Zealand Army Logistic Regiment, colonel-in-chief of the Princess Louise Fusiliers of Canada and colonel-in-chief of the Queen's York Rangers (1st American Regiment).
But he will retain his service rank of Vice-Admiral, the Palace has confirmed.
As an ex-member of the armed forces, he was promoted in line with his still-serving peers and made Vice-Admiral by the Navy on his 55th birthday in 2015.
The duke was due to be promoted to Admiral on his 60th birthday in 2020, but asked to defer this after stepping back from public duties in 2019.
At the time, the Palace said his other military appointments had been suspended.
Several other charities and organisations had cut their ties with the duke, but he continued to hold dozens of royal patronages - including being a patron or member of prestigious golf clubs, schools and cultural trusts.
There is more on this story at BBC.
Ex-CNN producer accused of ‘despicable acts’ against minor
Arrested former senior CNN producer John Griffin hit by pedophilia lawsuit
A lawsuit filed against former CNN producer John Griffin on behalf of an alleged underage sex crime victim seeks $15 million in damages and fees. Griffin was arrested last month on child sex trafficking charges.
Griffin is accused of “despicable acts” of “horrific sexual abuse” of a minor, Fox News reported on Tuesday, citing a civil lawsuit filed in Connecticut last week.
“For several years prior to 2020, the defendant solicited young girls, including the minor plaintiff, for the purpose of knowingly persuading, inducing, enticing and coercing them to engage in sexual activity, sexual exploitation, and/or sexual trafficking,” the lawsuit alleges.
The case against Griffin was brought on behalf of a nine-year-old girl, dubbed Jane Doe in court documents. The suit is seeking up to $15 million in damages and fees, Fox News said.
A former producer of Chris Cuomo’s show on CNN, Griffin was arrested on child sex trafficking charges last month and fired from the channel. According to prosecutors, in 2020, Griffin paid a Nevada woman more than $3,000 to fly her to Boston and then commit sex crimes that involved her adopted daughter at his vacation home in Vermont.
The evidence reportedly includes a drone video of the defendant in his underwear standing next to a completely naked nine-year-old girl.
Griffin pleaded not guilty to the charges in December.
CNN said at the time that the channel was unaware of Griffin’s actions and called charges against him “deeply disturbing.”
Perhaps that's true, but one can't help but wonder how such a person's character wasn't a warning sign?
No comments:
Post a Comment