According to reports, the Duchess of York could be called a witness in Prince Andrew’s sex assault case.
Lawyer David Boies, who represents the Duke of York’s accuser Virginia Roberts, has spoken of his intentions to formally speak with two British witnesses to a New York judge.
This is speculation that Prince Andrew’s ex-wife might be involved in the move. Sarah, Duchess Of York could be subpoenaed, The Telegraph reports.
It was suggested by Sigrid McCawley (another lawyer for Ms Roberts) that Andrew’s ex-wife could be asked to depose.
The Duke of York, 61, is facing a civil lawsuit in the US after Ms Roberts filed the lawsuit in August alleging that she was forced to have sex with him three times under orders from the paedophile Jeffrey Epstein in 2001 when she was 17.
Prince Andrew has consistently denied the claims, and his legal team is trying to have the US case dismissed.
After Virginia Roberts, the accuser of the Duke of York, was formally called by David Boies, the Duchess of York, the Duchess of York could be called to testify in the sex assault case against Prince Andrew.
Ms. Roberts claims that she was forced to have sex at Jeffrey Epstein’s New York mansion and Little St James, Prince Andrew’s private island in the Caribbean, in her civil lawsuit.
She claims she was ‘trafficked’ to London in March 2001. She was then photographed next to Andrew at Maxwell’s house.
Andrew has repeatedly denied that he ever met Miss Roberts, and has insistently claimed that he doesn’t remember.
In a 2019 Newsnight interview, he said that he was at a Pizza Express in Woking, Surrey on the day they allegedly went dancing and had sex.
Ms Roberts also claims she suffered’significant emotional distress and psychological harm’ as a result of her alleged abuse. She is seeking damages that could reach millions of pounds if her case is successful.
She claimed that Andrew knew she was a victim to sex trafficking by Epstein and also knew she was minor under US law.
The lawsuit claimed that she was compelled by Epstein or Maxwell to engage in sexual acts and threatened with death.
Ghislaine Maxwell faces a criminal trial for procuring and transporting underage girls for Epstein. She denies these allegations.
This week, it was revealed that Prince Andrew’s accuser will request a deposition from him as part her sex assault lawsuit against the prince.
This month Sigrid McCawley, another lawyer for Ms Roberts, suggested that one of the people who could be asked for a deposition was Andrew’s ex-wife Sarah Ferguson
The Duke of York, 61, is facing a civil lawsuit in the US after Ms Roberts filed the lawsuit in August alleging that she was forced to have sex with him three times
Ms Roberts claims she was ‘trafficked to London’ in March 2001. She was photographed next to Andrew Maxwell in Maxwell’s house.
Virginia Roberts’ legal team will ask the Duke of York to testify under oath. This could be done’relatively quickly’.
David Boies, Ms Roberts’ lawyer, stated that he would like to depose between 8 and 12 people, while the Duke’s lawyers wanted to ask a similar number.
In a 10-minute hearing before a New York federal court, Mr Boies stated that the case was moving along despite delays caused by the refusal of the Duke to sign the legal paperwork.
The judge suggested a tentative trial date for next September or October. This will be a shadow on The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee in June 2022, marking 70 years since her accession to the British throne.
The hearing was held days after Andrew filed his reply to Ms Roberts’ lawsuit in which he claimed she had accused him for ‘another paycheck at his expense’.
Boies stated that his 8-12 witness list included people he couldn’t identify right away because he wasn’t sure who he could get. The investigation is ongoing.
He stated that he would be ready to begin some depositions fairly quickly, but some targets (targets), will not be identified until two months later.
Andrew Brettler, the Duke’s lawyer, stated that he would seek a similar number depositions.
Judge Lewis Kaplan inquired if either side expected to need letters rogatory or a formal request by him to the British legal authorities for someone to sit for depositions.
Epstein, 66, was a paedophile who was convicted and was found dead in his cell as he waited for his 2019 trial on trafficking allegations
Mr Boies stated: “There are two people living in the United Kingdom where it might become necessary to send letters rogatory. They might be willing to cooperate. This should be known within the next 2 to 3 weeks.
Mr Brettler stated that he was not ruling out the possibility of making a similar request to the judge.
Sigrid McCawley (another lawyer for Mrs Giuffre) suggested earlier this month that Andrew’s ex-wife Sarah Ferguson could be asked to depose.
Judge Kaplan stated that although he was open to the possibility of September, in all cases October to December, for the trial he could not yet set a date.
After the newsnight interview that went horribly wrong about his relationship with Epstein (66), the Duke of York decided to step back from public life. He was being held responsible for his death in prison while awaiting his trial on trafficking charges.