Prince Andrew sued by Virginia Giuffre, accusing him of sexually abusing her when she was 17
ITV News Correspondent Rachel Younger reports on the civil case landing at Prince Andrew's door and the woman refusing to be silent
Virginia Giuffre is suing Prince Andrew, saying he sexually abused her when she was 17 years old.
Ms Giuffre, who is also one of Jeffrey Epstein's long-time accusers, filed the lawsuit on Monday in a New York federal court.
In the lawsuit, brought under the Child Victims Act, she claims the prince abused her on multiple occasions.
In a statement, Ms Giuffre said: “I am holding Prince Andrew accountable for what he did to me.
"The powerful and rich are not exempt from being held responsible for their actions. I hope that other victims will see that it is possible not to live in silence and fear, but to reclaim one’s life by speaking out and demanding justice.
“I did not come to this decision lightly. As a mother and a wife, my family comes first — and I know that this action will subject me to further attacks by Prince Andrew and his surrogates — but I knew if I did not pursue this action, I would be letting them and victims everywhere down."
Prince Andrew's representatives said they had no comment on the latest developments.
Ms Giuffre alleges she was trafficked to the duke and sexually abused by him.
On one occasion, she said the prince sexually abused her at Ghislaine Maxwell's home in London when Epstein, Maxwell and Prince Andrew forced her to have sex with the prince.
On another occasion, Prince Andrew allegedly sexually abused Ms Giuffre in Epstein’s New York mansion.
In November 2019, Prince Andrew told BBC Newsnight that he never had sex with Ms Giuffre, saying "it didn't happen."
He said he had "no recollection" of ever meeting her and that there were “a number of things that are wrong" about Giuffre’s account, which alleges the encounter occurred in 2001.
Maxwell, 59, has pleaded not guilty to sex trafficking charges in Manhattan federal court, where she faces trial in November.
Epstein, 66, took his own life in a federal jail in Manhattan in August 2019, a month after he was arrested on sex trafficking charges.