New Epstein accuser claims sexual encounter with ex-prince Andrew - report

A second Jeffrey Epstein accuser has alleged the late US sex offender sent her to Britain for a sexual encounter with former prince Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, the BBC reported. Photo / Jordan Pettitt, POOL, AFP

A second Jeffrey Epstein accuser has alleged the late US sex offender sent her to Britain for a sexual encounter with former prince Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, the BBC reported.

A US lawyer for the woman told the broadcaster late on Saturday that the alleged encounter occurred at the ousted royal’s residence on the Windsor estate, west of London, in 2010 when she was in her 20s.

The latest account emerged after the US Justice Department released a huge new batch of documents on the Epstein case, including photographs of Andrew kneeling over a woman lying on the floor.

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer has said the disgraced royal should accept requests to testify before the US Congress about Epstein’s crimes.

Brad Edwards, from the Florida legal firm Edwards Henderson, said that after spending the night with Andrew, the woman said she was given a tour of Buckingham Palace.

He added there were communications between his client and the former prince before the alleged encounter and that he is now considering filing a civil lawsuit on her behalf.

The lawyer, who reportedly represents more than 200 survivors of Epstein abuse, did not immediately respond to AFP’s request for comment.

Andrew could not be reached for comment but has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing linked to Epstein.

The claim comes more than a decade after sexual assault accusations against the ex-Duke of York by another Epstein accuser, Virginia Giuffre, first emerged publicly.

Giuffre, a US and Australian citizen who took her own life last year, has alleged she was trafficked to have sex with Andrew three times, including twice when she was 17.

After she launched a lawsuit against him, he paid her a multimillion-pound settlement in 2022 without making any admission of guilt.

King Charles stripped his brother of his royal titles and honours late last year after Giuffre recounted the claims in shocking detail in a posthumous memoir.

Andrew, 65, had already stepped back from royal duties in 2019 over the accusations and his Epstein ties.

The former prince maintained their friendship even after the disgraced American financier had pleaded guilty in Florida in 2008 to soliciting a minor for prostitution.

Epstein died in 2019 by suicide in jail as he awaited trial for sex crimes against minors.

The latest US Justice Department release again spotlighted the relationship between Epstein and former British ambassador to Washington and UK minister Peter Mandelson.

Mandelson resigned from the US post last year after emails emerged showing he had also maintained friendly contact with him after the American’s 2008 conviction.

On Sunday, he told the BBC he does not remember receiving payments from Epstein in 2003 and 2004 which totalled US$75,000 ($124k), according to bank statements reportedly included in Friday’s disclosures.

Mandelson, who was a Labour MP at the time, told the British broadcaster he had no record or recollection of receiving the money and did not know whether the documents were authentic.

-Agence France-Presse