Virginia Giuffre has filed a civil lawsuit against Prince Andrew in New York, alleging he abused her 20 years ago. The Duke of York has repeatedly denied any event ever took place.
Here’s what we know about her.
Giuffre’s history with Epstein and Maxwell
Giuffre – then known as Virginia Roberts – met Ghislaine Maxwell, a British socialite, when she was working at Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club in 2000.
According to Giuffre, Maxwell offered her a job as a travelling masseuse to then-financier Jeffrey Epstein, and promised to train the teenage Giuffre as a massage therapist.
Giuffre was then allegedly groomed by Epstein and Maxwell over the course of the next two and a half years, travelling with the pair as they darted between Epstein’s luxury estates.
The duo reportedly instructed her to have sex with a number of high profile figures during this time, including Andrew.
She only stopped travelling with Epstein and Maxwell when they sent her on a solo trip to Thailand in September 2002, to attend the International Training Massage School, Guiffre claimed.
Maxwell supposedly instructed her to pick up a Thai girl for Epstein while she was there, but Guiffre alleges that she chose to cut off all contact from them while in Thailand once she met her future husband Robert Giuffre out there.
When did Giuffre go public with her Epstein claims?
Giuffre lived in Australia with her husband for five years after allegedly leaving Epstein and Maxwell.
She was contacted by the FBI in 2007, and filed a lawsuit as Jane Doe against Epstein and Maxwell in 2009 alleging sexual trafficking when she was a minor.
She decided to make her abuse claims public in 2011 and openly discussed her claims against both Epstein and Andrew with the media.
She also included a photograph of herself as a teenager, with Andrew’s arm around her and Maxwell smiling in the corner of the image.
The photograph has become a major source of controversy, with Giuffre claiming it is proof they met while Andrew’s “friends” allege the photo is a fake. Andrew himself has also said he has no memory of the photograph.
There is no evidence to suggest the photograph is not real.
Andrew’s role as the UK’s trade envoy came to an end shortly after Giuffre went public with her claims and his association with Epstein came to light.
She was also caught up in a civil case against Maxwell in 2014 and 2015 after alleging the British socialite was Epstein’s madam. The case was settled out of court for an undisclosed sum in Giuffre’s favour.
Epstein was arrested and charged with sex trafficking and sex trafficking conspiracy in July 2019, but he died by suicide before his trial.
At the subsequent hearing, Giuffre said: “The reckoning must not end. It must continue. He did not act alone. We the victims know that.”
Giuffre’s allegations in the new civil case
Giuffre has claimed the Duke of York had sex with her in London in March 2001, in Maxwell’s home, after they spent the night dancing in Tramp nightclub.
She alleged they had sex again in Manhattan and Epstein’s island, Little Saint James, in the US Virgin Islands.
Guiffre also claimed Andrew had sex with her without her consent in the new civil case.
She has also alleged that Andrew was aware she was only 17 at the time – he was 41 – and that she was a “sex-trafficking victim”.
The case added that Giuffre, now 38, was still struggling with the “significant emotional and psychological distress and harm” from the “extreme and outrageous conduct”.
She is seeking monetary damages in the event Andrew is found liable.
Andrew has repeatedly denied the allegations, and claimed during his BBC Newsnight interview: “I have no recollection of ever meeting this lady, none whatsoever.”
Where is Giuffre now?
Giuffre is now a mother of three living with her husband in Australia.
She set up a US nonprofit in 2015 called Victims Refuse Silence to assist survivors of sexual abuse and to help prevent individuals being sex trafficked.
