'He Knows What Happened': Prince Andrew’s Accuser Responds to His Denial About Sex With Her
The sex trafficking victim of Jeffrey Epstein who claims she was forced into sex with Prince Andrew when she was a teenager responded to the royal’s denial in a TV interview.
“He knows what happened, I know what happened and there’s only one of us telling the truth,” Virginia Giuffre says in a BBC interview scheduled to air Monday. The network shared a 20-second preview of the interview on Thursday.
Giuffre — who formerly went by Virginia Roberts — alleges she was forced to have sex with the royal three times between 1999 and 2002 in London, New York and on a private Caribbean island owned by Epstein. She claims her first experience with Andrew took place when she was 17.
“It was a really scary time in my life,” she says in the BBC clip.
RELATED: Prince Andrew Talks Friendship with Jeffrey Epstein, Denies Having Sex with Underage Teen
Earlier in November, Andrew announced his decision to “step back from public duties for the foreseeable future” following his shocking BBC Newsnight interview, in which he discussed his friendship with Epstein and denied knowing Giuffre.
Giuffre’s attorney Sigrid McCawley responded to the announcement in a statement to PEOPLE.
“Prince Andrew’s recent interview and his subsequent action to withdraw from public life is welcomed news. It is a positive first step towards taking responsibility for his actions,” the statement read.
“However, basing his decision to step away from his duties due to his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein is only a half truth. He clearly had a long-term association with Ghislaine Maxwell who we maintain was Epstein’s co-conspirator and played a central role in devastating the lives of countless women.”
“He knows what happened, I know what happened and there’s only one of us telling the truth.”
The Prince and the Epstein Scandal | @BBCOne | Monday 2nd December, 9pm#BBCPanorama pic.twitter.com/tMIwWBztRR— Panorama 🌐 (@BBCPanorama) November 28, 2019
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In his BBC interview, speaking about Giuffre, the Duke of York, 59, said, “I have no recollection of ever meeting this lady, none whatsoever.” He added, “It just never happened.”
Buckingham Palace has also issued strong denials that Giuffre was forced to have sex with Andrew, at age 17. “It is emphatically denied that The Duke of York had any form of sexual contact or relationship with Virginia Roberts,” a previous statement said. “Any claim to the contrary is false and without foundation.”
RELATED: What to Know About the Jeffrey Epstein Sex Abuse Case and Prince Andrew’s Ties to Him
During Andrew’s interview, BBC journalist Emily Maitlis raised the issue of a photograph showing the royal with his arm around Giuffre’s waist — which is thought to have been taken inside the London home of Maxwell on March 10, 2001. Giuffre was 17 at the time.
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“I have absolutely no memory of that photograph ever being taken,” Andrew told Maitlis, before questioning the authenticity of the picture itself because he’s wearing his “traveling clothes” as opposed to his regular suit and tie.
The photograph was given to the FBI, who has never questioned its authenticity, Giuffre told PEOPLE in an interview earlier this year.
In Andrew’s interview, he discusses his friendship with Epstein, the convicted child sex offender who died by suicide in a New York City jail cell in August while awaiting sex trafficking charges: Queen Elizabeth‘s son recalled meeting Epstein in 1991 through Maxwell, the financier’s then-girlfriend.
“It would be, to some extent, a stretch to say that as it were we were close friends,” Andrew said. “I mean, we were friends because of other people,” he said, although he acknowledged staying overnight in Epstein’s residences.
During an August hearing for Epstein, his victims were invited by the district court judge to make victim impact statements. Afterward, Giuffre spoke to reporters and addressed Andrew.
“He knows exactly what he’s done,” she said, “and I hope he comes clean.”
