Virginia Giuffre files lawsuit against Prince Andrew alleging sexual abuse

(CNN) – Virginia Roberts Giuffre has filed a lawsuit against Prince Andrew for alleged sexual abuse, according to federal court documents filed Monday.

Giuffre, an alleged victim of Jeffrey Epstein, has previously said publicly that she was forced to perform sex acts with Britain’s Prince Andrew, telling the BBC in 2019 that she was trafficked by Epstein and forced to have sex with his friends, including the Duke of York, when she was underage.

Buckingham Palace denied her allegations in a statement to CNN at the time, saying “It is emphatically denied that The Duke of York had any form of sexual contact or relationship with Virginia Roberts. Any claim to the contrary is false and without foundation.”

Giuffre accuses Prince Andrew in the lawsuit of knowing her age and of knowing that she was a sex-trafficking victim being forced to engage in sexual acts with him. Giuffre said she feared disobeying Epstein, Maxwell and Prince Andrew “due to their powerful connections, wealth, and authority,” court documents state.

Epstein was indicted for sex trafficking of minors and conspiracy to engage in sex trafficking of minors charges in July 2019, which he pleaded not guilty to. He was found dead in his Manhattan federal detention center cell the next month.Maxwell was charged in 2020 for her alleged role in recruiting, grooming and sexually abusing underage girls as young as 14, and later, with sex trafficking charges. She has pleaded not guilty to all charges.