Request to dismiss Prince Andrew sexual abuse lawsuit denied by judge

Jan. 12 (UPI) -- A request to dismiss Virginia Guiffre's lawsuit against Britain's Prince Andrew alleging sexual abuse has been rejected by a federal judge in New York.

Giuffre filed the lawsuit against Queen Elizabeth II's son in August, accusing him of sexually assaulting her on at least three separate occasions in the United States and Britain when she was 17 years old.

She claims that the late disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein, who died by suicide while awaiting trial on federal sex abuse charges in 2019, arranged for the Duke of York to sexually abuse her.

Court documents show that Guiffre settled a similar case against Epstein 11 years ago for $500,000.

Prince Andrew has denied all allegations and his lawyer, Andrew Brettler, urged U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan to throw the case out as Guiffre failed to articulate what happened to her.

Kaplan ruled to continue with the case two weeks after Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein's longtime partner, was found guilty of sex trafficking a minor among other crimes.

Guiffre filed a lawsuit -- which calls for a jury trial -- in August 2021, calling for unspecified compensation and punitive damages.