As Prince Andrew continues to fight against a sexual assault lawsuit, he has demanded a “trial by jury” to clear his name.
New York court documents show that Prince Andrew has denied all allegations against him and “hereby demands a trial by jury on all causes of action asserted in the complaint”.
The civil sex assault suit was brought about by Virginia Giuffre, 38, who has accused the royal of forcing her to sleep with him more than 20 years ago at the home of convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell.
In an 11-page document, Prince Andrew’s lawyers responded to Ms Giuffre’s allegations, saying the Duke denies any allegation that he sexually abused Ms Giuffre when she was under 18 years of age.
The document, which was submitted to the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, sets out a series of defences “without assuming the burden of proof, and expressly denying any and all wrongdoing”.
The Duke’s defence also claims that the case should be dismissed because Ms Giuffre is a permanent resident of Australia and that by entering into the 2009 agreement with Jeffrey Epstein she “waived the claims now asserted in the complaint”.
After Judge Lewis Kaplan denied his motion to dismiss the civil complaint, Prince Andrew was previously thought to be seeking an out-of-court settlement with Ms Giuffre for an estimated $18 million: the amount he got from selling his chalet in Switzerland.
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