Prince Andrew Could Face Another Sex Abuse Lawsuit

Prince Andrew could face another US lawsuit from one of Jeffrey Epstein’s victims who has accused him of groping her breasts.

Johanna Sjoberg has accused the Duke of York of sexually assaulting her when she was 21 years old and working as PA for the billionaire pedophile Jeffrey Epstein.

Meanwhile David Boies, who is representing Virginia Giuffre Roberts in her US civil case against the 61-year-old Royal said the Duke’s legal team had been ‘totally uncooperative’, over the past 5 years, in attempts to discuss the abuse claims made by his client.

The Mirror reports: Royal watchers say the Duke now has little hope of returning to public duties and may even be stripped of his HRH title.

Last night Andrew arrived at Balmoral with his ex-wife, Sarah Ferguson, to visit the Queen who is there on her summer break. The Prince drove his Range Rover through the entrance to his mother’s estate just after 6pm.

In her most shocking claim in New York on Monday, Ms Giuffre said she had feared for her life if she had refused to have sex with Andrew, “against her will”.

Her legal papers state: “Plaintiff was compelled by express or implied threats by Epstein, Maxwell, and/or Prince Andrew to engage in sexual acts with Andrew, and feared death or injury to herself or another
for ­disobeying.”

New York’s Southern District Court signed off on a summons giving Andrew 21 days to respond once he had been served with Giuffre’s lawsuit.

It warned him: “If you fail to respond, judgment by default will be entered against you for the relief demanded.”

Ms Guiffre claims she was handed to the Duke for sex on three occasions – which he emphatically denies – including in New York and London.

“Prince Andrew sexually abused Plaintiff in Epstein’s New York mansion in this District,” her lawsuit states.

“During this encounter, Maxwell forced Plaintiff, a child, and another victim to sit on Prince Andrew’s lap as Prince Andrew touched her.”

The Mirror can reveal the other “victim” in this statement is Ms Sjoberg, who has previously spoken publicly about her claims.

In a 2016 legal deposition as part of a case between Ms Giuffre and Maxwell, she claimed the Duke committed a “sexual act” on her, which Andrew vehemently denies.

It relates to a previous court-made claim that in April 2001, Ms Giuffre was forced to have sex with the Duke at Epstein’s home.

Epstein had flown Ms Sjoberg and Ms Giuffre to Manhattan from Palm Beach, Florida, where they lived. While inside his mansion, Epstein and Maxwell presented the duke with a Spitting Image puppet of himself.

Maxwell, now 59, then put the puppet’s hand on Ms Giuffre’s breast, leading the Duke to allegedly place his hand on Sjoberg’s breast. Ms Sjoberg, claimed: “Andrew was very charming. I didn’t know exactly who he was but felt that I knew him.

“She [Ghislaine] came down with a present for him – a latex puppet of him from Spitting Image.

“We had a picture taken. Virginia, another girl there, sat on a chair and had the puppet on her lap. Andrew sat on another chair. I sat on his lap, and he put his hand on my breast.

“Ghislaine put the puppet’s hand on Virginia’s breast, then Andrew put his hand on mine. It was a great joke. Everybody laughed. Ghislaine made a lot of sexual jokes. She had a very dirty sense of humour.”

Talking about being abused by Epstein in 2007, she added: “I was groomed for it. I made a pact with the devil in exchange for excitement and glamour. I was only a college student. I was hard-up and foolish.”

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 to use civil courts to seek justice.

Victims whose cases were previously too old to prosecute will be given a year from the time law comes into force to launch any legal actions.

Senator Brad Hoylman said of the legislation: “Adult survivors of serial sexual assaulters like Jeffrey Epstein have been shut out of our courthouses . That ends now.”

Sources close to Ms Sjoberg are waiting for legislators to vote on it but say “already many hurdles have been passed” to it becoming law.

“JoJo has never been driven by money, but she does want to see justice served,” they said.