Prince Andrew faces another legal battle over Jeffrey Epstein’s claims: wife says she was raped by financier at his New York home while Duke of York was staying there
- The Duke has previously said it was wrong of him to stay indoors
- Caroline Kaufman was allegedly raped by Epstein while Prince Andrew was there
- Jeffrey Epstein was found dead in prison in 2019 awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges
- The civil suit does not allege any wrongdoing by the Duke or claim he knew
Prince Andrew faced more trouble yesterday after lawyers for one of Jeffrey Epstein’s alleged victims threatened to serve legal papers on him.
Caroline Kaufman officials say Andrew visited Epstein’s New York home on the night she alleges she was raped by the pedophile financier in December 2010.
They want the Duke of York to make a statement as a potential witness to events at the Upper East Side townhouse during his visit when he was photographed inside the building.
The civil suit does not allege any wrongdoing by the Duke or allegation that he had knowledge of an assault on then-17-year-old Miss Kaufman.
The Queen’s second son was stripped of his official duties this year when he paid a £12million settlement to Virginia Roberts, who accused him of sexually abusing her when she was 17
But her lawyer’s comments come just a week after Andrew, 62, reportedly urged the Queen to return his royal duties and ceremonial roles.
Spencer Kuvin, who is replacing Miss Kaufman, now 28, said he wanted Andrew to make a statement about his visit to the New York townhouse.
He told the Sunday Mirror: “We are looking into serving Prince Andrew. We would have a subpoena issued here in the States, taken to England and located, then we would have to track him down and get him served. It should be a fairly easy target to locate.”
In a $630 million (£515 million) lawsuit against Epstein’s estate filed in Manhattan federal court, Miss Kaufman said she was invited to his home for a “model interview”.
However, she claims she was then taken to a massage room, where she was allegedly raped by Epstein.
The Duke has previously denied witnessing any wrongdoing by Epstein, who was found dead in his prison cell in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.
In his infamous Newsnight interview in 2019, Prince Andrew claimed he had traveled to the US to sever ties with Epstein, who had been convicted of procuring an underage girl into prostitution two years earlier.
The Duke said it was wrong of him to have stayed at the house, but denied seeing any young girls there, saying “I never saw them.”
The Queen’s second son was stripped of his official duties earlier this year as he prepared to pay a £12million settlement to Virginia Roberts, who had accused him of sexually abusing her when she was 17.
Caroline Kaufman officials want the Duke of York to make a statement as a potential witness to events at Jeffrey Epstein’s Upper East Side townhouse during his visit, when he was pictured inside the building
Prince Andrew had always denied her claims, saying he had no recollection of meeting her, but settled a civil lawsuit she filed in the US in February.
In a statement issued after the case closed, he pledged to support “fighting the evils of the sex trade and supporting its victims.” Miss Kaufman’s lawyer, Mr Kuvin, said: “If Prince Andrew is going to be true to his word, I urge him to make a statement as to what happened the night Caroline was attacked.
“He should volunteer, we shouldn’t try to minister to him to get his testimony.
“Caroline wants to know what he has to say. She wants all witnesses to come forward.”
A spokesman for the Duke of York declined to comment.