Prince Andrew has rushed to the remote Balmoral estate to get away from the media frenzy about a potential lawsuit brought by Virginia Giuffre.
The American-Australian is suing the Queen’s son for allegedly sexually assaulting her when she was a teenager, and has said it was “past the time for him to be held to account”.
She claims she was trafficked by Andrew’s former friend and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein to have sex with the duke, when she was aged 17 and a minor under US law.
David Boies, who represents Ms Giuffre, said his client ultimately wanted “vindication” from her civil suit for damages.
Second lawsuit
And now there could be a second lawsuit on the horizon, withJohanna Sjoberg, who was once Epstein’s PA, alleging that the Duke of York groped her breast when she was 21 years old.
According to reports in The Mirror she had been previously unable to sue as too much time had elapsed. But a likely US law change means Ms Sjoberg may be able to bring her allegations to court.
In June, the New York State Senate passed the Adult Survivors Act, which relates to survivors of sex crimes who were 18 or older when abused.
If signed into law it will ensure those who stayed silent are able use civil courts to seek justice.
Victims whose cases were previously too old to prosecute will have a year from the time law comes into force to bring any legal actions.
Puppet
Unsealed documents at the time revealed Andrew allegedly touched Johanna, then aged 21, when they posed for a picture.
In her testimony in 2016, she said Andrew and Virginia Giuffre – then Roberts – were sat on a couch with a Spitting Image puppet on her lap.
She added: “And so then I sat on Andrew’s lap – and I believe on my own volition – and they took the puppet’s hands and put it on Virginia’s breast, and so Andrew put his on mine.”
A source has now told The Mirror: “JoJo has never been driven by money, but she does want to see justice served,” they said.
“Her attorneys are closely looking at the act to see what redress may be open to her.”
Andrew has vehemently denied the allegations in the past, and a spokesman for the duke said there was “no comment” when she was asked to respond to Ms Giuffre’s legal action.
Related: Virginia Giuffre brings legal action against Prince Andrew over alleged abuse
