The terms of a 2009 settlement between Jeffrey Epstein and an accuser, Virginia Giuffre, have been unsealed by a federal court considering her current sexual abuse lawsuit against Britain's Prince Andrew. The documents show Epstein paid Giuffre $500,000 to drop her suit, the Guardian reports. Under the agreement, Epstein did not admit to any wrongdoing, per the Hill. Giuffre has said Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell trafficked her to have sex with men including Andrew, who has denied ever meeting her. Maxwell was convicted on sex trafficking charges last week. Epstein died in his cell in 2019.
The prince's lawyers wanted the settlement revealed because, they said, Giuffre agreed in it to not pursue legal action against anyone who could have been named a co-defendant in the suit against Epstein. The agreement does not name Andrew. "To avoid being dragged into future legal disputes, Epstein negotiated for this broad release," Andrew's lawyers wrote in a filing, "insisting that it cover any and all persons who Giuffre identified as potential targets of future lawsuits." Federal judges agreed there was no compelling reason to keep the agreement secret. The British royal's lawyers made no comment on Monday.
A hearing in Giuffre's suit is scheduled for Tuesday in New York, and Andrew's lawyers plan to argue again that the case should be dismissed. Her lawyers said through a representative Monday that Giuffre’s lawyers said the release is "irrelevant to Ms. Giuffre's claim against Prince Andrew" because the settlement "does not mention" him. The documents also don't mention law professor Alan Dershowitz, who also has been accused by Giuffre. "I'm delighted that this document was unsealed," Dershowitz said Monday, arguing that it shows he can't be sued by Giuffre. (More Prince Andrew stories.)
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