Lawyers for Prince Andrew reportedly began "emergency talks" Wednesday night after Ghislaine Maxwell was found guilty on five of six counts related to the trafficking of young girls to be sexually used by Jeffrey Epstein and his high-profile friends.
Virginia Giuffre, 38, filed suit against the British royal on Aug. 9 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, alleging Epstein forced her to have sex with Prince Andrew multiple times when she was 17 over 20 years ago. Prince Andrew denies Giuffre's allegations.
Now the Duke of York's legal team in the United States is interested in the testimony of one of Maxwell's four accusers, "Carolyn," who said she was brought to Epstein's Palm Beach mansion in Florida by Giuffre rather than by Maxwell.
"Andrew's U.S. team immediately seized upon Carolyn's testimony," a legal source told the Mirror. "They believe she holds a smoking gun to any possible role Virginia played in Epstein's pyramid scheme of abuse. Andrew's lawyers have convinced him that if he is to stand any chance of preventing her case from going to court, they need to fight with fire and that nothing should be off-limits."
Carolyn claimed Giuffre, at the age of 18, approached her and asked if she wanted to "make money." When prosecutor Maurene Comey asked if Giuffre explained what she would do to make money, Carolyn said she did not tell her right away.
GHISLAINE MAXWELL FOUND GUILTY IN SEX TRAFFICKING CASE
Giuffre maintains she was sexually trafficked to the prince three times, where he raped and sexually abused her. One of the three alleged occasions was while she was 17 and occurred in Maxwell's London home. Giuffre did not testify at Maxwell's trial, nor was she listed as a victim in the indictment. However, evidence of Giuffre flying with Maxwell and Epstein was allowed in the trial.
Maxwell was found guilty Wednesday on five out of six charges related to the trafficking of young girls to be sexually used by Epstein and his friends. Maxwell, 60, pleaded not guilty to the counts and faces up to 65 years in prison. Her attorney and family have vowed an appeal.
Prince Andrew, a known friend of Epstein and Maxwell, has continually denied the allegations made by Giuffre. Andrew claimed he has no memory of Giuffre, although he was once pictured with his arm wrapped around her with Maxwell in the background. During an interview with the BBC in 2019, he denied having sex with her.
The testimony by Carolyn could help strengthen his lawyer Andrew Brettler's attempt to discredit Giuffre by claiming she was involved in bringing new members if Carolyn's testimony is allowed in the case.
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U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan in New York is scheduled to hear arguments on dismissing Giuffre's case at a court hearing on Jan. 4. If the case is not dismissed, the prince will face a trial date sometime between September and December 2022.