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Prince Andrew on Tuesday reached a settlement with Virginia Giuffre in her sexual assault lawsuit against him, court documents show.
A joint statement attached to the notice of settlement said Andrew will donate an undisclosed sum to Giuffre's nonprofit advocating for victims of trafficking. Andrew did not admit to sexually abusing Giuffre and did not disclose the amount of money he will pay.
A joint statement in the court filing read: "Prince Andrew has never intended to malign Ms. Giuffre's character, and he accepts that she has suffered both as an established victim of abuse and as a result of unfair public attacks. It is known that Jeffrey Epstein trafficked countless young girls over many years."
The settlement appears to come before Giuffre's attorney, the famed litigator David Boies, had a chance to depose the royal.
US District Judge Lewis Kaplan, who's overseeing the case, issued a ruling in January denying Andrew's request to dismiss the lawsuit, allowing it to move forward to the discovery process.
Since then, Kaplan has issued letters to judicial authorities in Australia and the United Kingdom asking them to aid in depositions for Giuffre and Prince Andrew. He had set a July 14 deadline to complete the depositions in advance of a trial this fall.
Giuffre filed a lawsuit in a Manhattan federal court in August, accusing the Duke of York of sexually assaulting her numerous times in the early 2000s.
She said the abuse started when she was 17 and took place at Epstein's homes in New York and the US Virgin Islands, as well as Maxwell's house in London, according to the lawsuit.
According to Tuesday's statement, Andrew "regrets" his association with Epstein, and "commends the bravery of Ms. Giuffre and other survivors in standing up for themselves and others."
"He pledges to demonstrate his regret for his association with Epstein by supporting the fight against the evils of sex trafficking, and by supporting its victims," the statement added.
Andrew had been among now-dead pedophile financier's most high-profile friends. Accusers in Ghislaine Maxwell's trial in December claimed that she and Epstein often mentioned him, which they said intimidated them and prevented them from contacting authorities about their sexually abusive experiences.
The relationship has been enormously damaging to the duke's reputation. In court documents for earlier lawsuits, Giuffre circulated a photo of her and Andrew in an embrace in Maxwell's London home, with Maxwell in the background.
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In January, after Kaplan allowed the lawsuit to proceed, the British royal family announced that Prince Andrew would be stripped of military titles and would defend himself "as a private citizen."
Giuffre has also filed lawsuits against Epstein and Maxwell accusing them of sexual misconduct, both of which were settled. She also accused Alan Dershowitz, another friend of Epstein's, of sexually assaulting her. That case remains pending.
The duke said he ultimately cut ties with Epstein and has gone to great lengths to deny Giuffre's claims. He said he had no memory of them meeting, and that the photo of them together with Maxwell may have been photoshopped.
In a 2019 BBC News interview, he rejected the claim that he and Giuffre danced in London's Tramp nightclub, on particularly outlandish grounds. The prince said he remembered bringing his daughter, Princess Beatrice, to a pizza party at the time, and said that a medical condition stemming from a traumatic experience during the Balkans War made him physically incapable of sweating — despite many photos showing Prince Andrew sweating in nightclubs.
The extensive denials have allowed for a potentially wide discovery process. In court documents, Giuffre's lawyers had asked for Andrew's medical records regarding his ability to sweat. Boies has also said he wanted to depose Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie, as well as the duke's ex-wife, Sarah Ferguson.
Andrew had previously requested a jury trial, indicating in late January that he wasn't going to settle. Boies said it was important to Giuffre "that this matter be resolved in a way that vindicates her and vindicates other victims."
