‘Prince Andrew slept with second victim’

A second victim who was allegedly abused by late American financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, has claimed that she slept with the UK’s Prince Andrew, a media report said on Saturday.

The revelation comes after the Duke of York denied having slept with another victim, Virginia Roberts Giuffre at the Belgravia home of Ghislaine Maxwell, who has been accused of trafficking in young women for Epstein, media reported. The second woman, who has not been named, has communicated with lawyers who are representing Epstein’s other alleged victims, according to the Mirror report which cited sources as saying.

It was now being decided whether these allegations would form part of a lawsuit against Epstein’s estate and a ‘rigorous investigation’ was underway, the sources said.

In response, a Palace spokesperson said the allegation were ‘not something we would comment on’. The victims have said that Prince Andrew witnessed how people were given massages at the sex offender’s homes. But the Duke of York has denied the claims, adding that he did not witness or suspect any suspicious behaviour during visits to Epstein’s homes.

Criticism of Andrew for his relationship with the well-connected financier increased after the airing of the Prince’s interview with the BBC last month.

Giuffre has produced a photograph of her then-17-year-old self with Prince Andrew, his arm around her waist, and Maxwell standing in the background. Though the sex-trafficking case against Epstein ended with his death four months ago inside a federal detention centre in New York, victims were suing his estate and prosecutors have left open the possibility of charging others people as accomplices.