Prince Andrew served court papers in sex-assault lawsuit after attempts to avoid them
Prince Andrew has finally been served court papers over his
sex accuser’s lawsuit — after his police guards and security were initially
ordered not to accept them, according to court papers filed Friday.
Cesar Sepulveda filed an affidavit in the Manhattan federal
lawsuit brought by Virginia Roberts Giuffre confirming that he had served the
papers to Andrew at his Royal Lodge home at 9:30 a.m. Aug. 27.
He detailed how he had been repeatedly rebuffed in previous
attempts to hand over the documents in which Queen Elizabeth II’s 61-year-old
son is accused of first-degree rape tied to late pedophile Jeffrey Epstein’s
sex ring.
Sepulveda said the day before the papers were successfully
served, he had been told to wait at Andrew’s main gates, where police officers
— including Andrew’s head of security — repeatedly claimed they could not reach
anyone inside.
The server said he was then told that “the security there had
been instructed not to allow anyone attending there for the purpose of serving
court papers onto the grounds of the property and at the time they had been
told not to accept service of any court process.”
He was “also advised at that time that anything left there
would not be forwarded” to the prince.
“It appeared from the attendance that the security staff had
already been primed not to allow anyone access onto the property to serve court
process and had been instructed not to accept any service,” his affidavit said.
He then left messages with Andrew’s attorney, but “no
communication was received” in response, he said, forcing him to return to
Royal Lodge the next day.
This time, the officer at the gate contacted Andrew’s head
of security, who assured Sepulveda that he could leave the papers and they
would be forwarded to the Duke of York’s legal team.
Sepulveda asked if it was “possible to meet personally” with
Andrew to serve him directly, but “was told that this was not possible,” his
affidavit said.
However, leaving it with the police officer “is consistent
with the provisions for service,” the affidavit noted, stating that Andrew was
officially served the complaint and exhibits.
He also left documents alerting him that the first hearing,
a telephone conference from New York, is scheduled for Monday, the papers
stated.
Giuffre’s lawsuit claims she was “forced to have sexual
intercourse with Prince Andrew against her will” at the behest of pedophile
Jeffrey Epstein and accused madam Ghislaine Maxwell.
“Prince Andrew’s actions constitute sexual offenses”
including first- and third-degree rape, the lawsuit alleges, citing New York
penal code, under which rape includes with someone “by forcible compulsion.”
Giuffre claims she suffered “substantial damages” from
“extreme emotional distress, humiliation, fear, psychological trauma, loss of
dignity and self-esteem, and invasion of her privacy.”
“I am holding Prince Andrew accountable for what he did to
me,” Giuffre told The Post in a statement after filing her lawsuit.
“The powerful and rich are not exempt from being held
responsible for their actions,” she said.
“I did not come to this decision lightly. As a mother and a
wife, my family comes first — and I know that this action will subject me to
further attacks by Prince Andrew and his surrogates — but I knew if I did not
pursue this action, I would be letting them and victims everywhere down,” she
said.
Andrew has repeatedly denied Giuffre’s claims, including
during a BBC interview in which he insisted he had “no recollection of ever
meeting this lady, none whatsoever.”
Neither he, his legal team nor Buckingham Palace has
responded to the lawsuit.
Epstein hanged himself in his Manhattan lockup in August
2019 while awaiting trial on serious sex charges.
Maxwell is in custody in Brooklyn awaiting trial for
allegedly recruiting underage girls for Epstein. She has pleaded not guilty.
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