Prince Andrew under pressure as Ghislaine Maxwell arrested by FBI
THE UK'S Prince Andrew is back under pressure after Jeffrey
Epstein's British former girlfriend arrested by the FBI.
Ghislaine Maxwell was arrested and charged by US officer
yesterday under suspicion of assisting Jeffrey Epstein with his sexual
exploitation of underage girls.
It is alleged that she helped Epstein to "identify,
befriend and groom" dozens of girls, including one as young as 14, over a
number of years, and is charged with six offences.
Maxwell had previously denied assisting Epstein, as well as
denying any knowledge of his wrongdoing despite being in an "intimate
relationship" with him between 1994 - 1997; four of the six charges
against her are alleged to have taken place in those years.
Acting US attorney for the southern district of New York,
Audrey Strauss, announced the charges yesterday and told reporters that Maxwell
assisted Epstein in trafficking and abusing underage girls, and "in some
cases" participated in the abuse herself.
"Maxwell was among Epstein's closest associates and
helped him exploit girls who were as young as 14 years old," Ms Strauss
said.
"Maxwell played a critical role in helping Epstein to
identify, befriend and groom minor victims for abuse."
The new charges correlate with multiple accusations from
girls who have come forward regarding their abuse by Epstein, who said Maxwell
had a network of girls who she would coerce into performing sexual acts on the
disgraced financier.
Epstein rubbed shoulders with many high-profile figures
throughout his life, including US President Donald Trump, former president Bill
Clinton and the UK's Prince Andrew.
The Duke of York had also strenuously denied any knowledge
of wrongdoing by his former close friend, and was forced to deny that he
himself had been sexually involved with an underage girl, Virginia Roberts
Giuffre, who he had met through Epstein.
In an infamous interview with the BBC last year, the Queen's
son said the accusations against him were false, as Virginia Roberts Giuffre
had recalled him sweating profusely but at the time, due to a medical
condition, he couldn't sweat.
He also claimed he remembered being at a Pizza Express in
Woking on the exact date he was alleged to have had sex with 17-year-old
Virginia in London on 10 March, 2001.
Now the prince is again under pressure to allow US
investigators to interview him as the case is reopened; the court case against
Epstein fell apart last year when the accused man allegedly took his own life
while in prison.
A lawyer for some of Epstein's victims, Spencer Coogan,
appeared on BBC Radio 4's Today show where he called on the Duke of York to
speak to US prosecutors about his controversial relationship with the
financier.
"I certainly think Prince Andrew has a story to tell.
On behalf of the victims we have continuously asked him to step forward, step
up, be a man and tell us what he knows," he told the programme.
"He has been hiding behind not only the royal family
but his attorneys.
US lawyer Gloria Allred, another attorney acting on behalf
of Epstein's other victims, said he needs to come forward "without
delay".
"It is so traumatising and difficult for the victims
not to know the truth," she told ITV's Good Morning Britain, referring to
his refusal as "a torture test".
"More excuses, more delays, it really is painful for
many of the victims. It's just not fair."
She went on to say that he would not need to be extradited
to the US in order to speak to detectives, but that US officials could
facilitate the interview in the UK.
"'I'm just so tired of the excuses," Ms Allred
went on.
"The victims want the truth, they want the
transparency, they want him to tell law enforcement what he knows."
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