Prince
Andrew was under growing pressure last night to testify on oath about
his contacts with alleged underage ‘sex slave’ Virginia Roberts.
She
lodged fresh documents at a Florida court saying her lawyers had served
an extraordinary letter on the Duke last week requesting he answer
questions – but he ‘refused’ to accept it.
Miss
Roberts also issued a stinging attack on ‘false and hurtful’ denials of
her claims made by Andrew in the tumultuous past three weeks.
She
claimed his police bodyguards left her alone with him the first time he
had sex with her and that she was involved in an orgy with the prince
and eight other young girls.
Last week, Miss Roberts’ lawyers sent by FedEx couriers an unprecedented letter addressed to ‘His Royal Highness The Duke of York’ at Buckingham Palace requesting his ‘voluntary cooperation in answering question about his sexual interactions’ with her.
The letter
offered to interview the prince under oath ‘at a time and place of your
choosing’. But her lawyers stated: ‘Federal Express has informed us that
the letter has been refused by the recipient.’
She
alleges she was a sex slave loaned out by paedophile billionaire
Jeffrey Epstein to his friend Andrew when she was aged 17 in 2001,
claiming: ‘Whatever Prince Andrew wanted, I was to make sure he got.’
The
latest bombshell came as a shock to Buckingham Palace officials last
night as they arrived in Switzerland with Andrew to attend the World
Economic Forum in Davos.
The
Prince, who is today due to give a much-anticipated speech to business
leaders, was sitting down with his advisers when details of the papers
began to drop last night.
In
her latest court salvo, Miss Roberts states: ‘I have seen Buckingham
Palace’s recent “emphatic” denial that Prince Andrew had sexual contact
with me. That denial is false and hurtful to me. I did have sexual
contact with him as I have described…under oath.
‘Given what
he knows and has seen, I was hoping that he would simply voluntarily
tell the truth about everything. I hope my attorneys can interview
Prince Andrew under oath about the contacts and that he will tell the
truth.’
She said she had directed her lawyers ‘to pursue all reasonable and legitimate means to bring criminal charges against these powerful people for the crimes they have committed against me and other girls.’
She
added: ‘If a judge wants me to present my information in more detail,
including more specific descriptions of the sexual activities with the
men Epstein sent me to, I could do so.’
She also denies having sex with former US President Bill Clinton.
The
letter served on Andrew was written by lawyer Jack Scarola, dated
January 14, and included the now-notorious photo of the Prince posing
next to Miss Roberts.
He
told the Prince: ‘This letter is a formal request…to interview you,
under oath, regarding interactions that you had with Jane Doe No. 3 [the
name used by Miss Roberts in legal proceedings] beginning in
approximately early 2001.
Virginia Roberts included four photos of herself in the new court filing
to illustrate her connection to the places in New Mexico mentioned in
the court documents
Jane Doe No. 3 was then 17 years old. Among
other things, I would like to discuss events that occurred at the time
that the photograph below was taken — and shortly thereafter.
‘I
would also like to discuss Jane Doe 3’s claims of your subsequent
interactions with her in New York City, New York later that year.
‘Details
of those claims have been widely reported in the British press (with
varying degrees of accuracy) as have your denials of the claims , so I
assume that it is unnecessary for me to be any more specific about the
proposed areas of our inquiry.
‘The interview could be conducted at a time and place of your choosing, and with your cooperation,’
The
letter tops a damaging three weeks for Andrew since he was
sensationally accused in U.S. court papers of abusing Miss Roberts when
she 17.
Andrew,
54, fiercely denies ‘any form of sexual contact or relationship’ with
Miss Roberts and has consulted top criminal QC William Clegg.
Miss
Roberts stated: ‘Epstein made me have sex with Prince Andrew several
times. I had sex with him three times, including one orgy. I knew he was
a member of the British Royal Family, but I just called him “Andy.”’
She
said the first instance of sexual contact happened in London at Miss
Maxwell’s townhouse. ‘I got news from Maxwell that I would be meeting a
prince. Later that day, Epstein told me I was meeting a “major prince.”
‘Eventually
Prince Andrew arrived, along with his security guards. The guards then
went out of the house and stayed out front in their car. It was just
Epstein, Maxwell, and me inside alone with Andy. I was introduced to the
Prince, and we kissed formally, cheek to cheek. Maxwell said “guess how
old she is.” Prince Andrew guessed 17.’
Andrew took
her to Tramp club before they returned to the townhouse where she and
the Prince allegedly ‘went to the bathroom and bedroom…We engaged in
sexual activities there. Afterwards, Andy left quickly with his
security.’
The
legal documents filed yesterday say that although Buckingham Palace has
‘recently denied that Prince Andrew had sexual contact’ with Miss
Roberts, ‘it has not attempted to explain what led to the Prince having
his picture taken with his arm around a 17 year old American girl at
night in London in an intimate setting in a private residence’.
‘Nor has the
Palace explained what Ghislaine Maxwell is doing there and who took
that picture – while Jane Doe 3 (Miss Roberts) has provided a sworn
affidavit that the photographer was Prince Andrew’s close friend (as
well as sex trafficker and now registered sex offender) Jeffrey
Epstein.’
In
her statement, Miss Roberts said that in 2011, while living in
Australia, she was interviewed by two FBI agents about her allegations.
Last night a Buckingham Palace spokesman said: ‘We have nothing to say in addition to our earlier comments on the issue.’
Previously,
the Palace has said ‘any suggestion of impropriety with underage minors
is categorically untrue’, adding: ‘The Duke would never interfere in an
active legal case and did not do so in this case’
Epstein,
61, was sentenced to 18 months in jail for paedophile offences. But he
only served 13 months behind bars. This was due to a controversial plea
bargain agreement between his ‘army of legal superstars’ and the U.S
Government.
A spokesperson for Miss Maxwell, 53, daughter of disgraced tycoon Robert Maxwell, has strongly denied the allegations.
Harvard law professor Alan Dershowitz - who is also named in the court papers -
said the claims against him were part of a pattern of “made-up stories”
by Miss Roberts (chck) and her lawyers against prominent people.
Miss Roberts’ lawyers sent Buckingham Palace a letter (above) requesting
his ‘voluntary cooperation in answering question about his sexual
interactions’ with her
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