Virginia Giuffre’s sex-abuse lawsuit against Prince Andrew was formally dismissed Tuesday, weeks after the embattled royal and the longtime Jeffrey Epstein accuser said they had reached a settlement.
Manhattan federal court Judge Lewis Kaplan signed a dismissal stipulation Tuesday afternoon, officially putting the case to a close. Giuffre and Andrew will each be responsible for paying their own legal costs and fees, according to the court document.
In February, Giuffre and Andrew’s attorneys filed court papers stating they had reached an agreement in principle to settle the suit.
Andrew admitted no wrongdoing, but wrote in a letter that he regretted his association with Epstein, who Giuffre claims trafficked him to the royal and other rich and powerful men.
“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,” the letter states.
“It is known that Jeffrey Epstein trafficked countless young girls over many years. Prince Andrew regrets his association with Epstein, and commends the bravery of Ms. Giuffre and other survivors in standing up for themselves and others,” it adds.
The settlement amount was not publicly disclosed, but a source told The Post at the time that it could be north of $12 million.
In her suit filed in Manhattan federal court, Giuffre claimed Andrew sexually abused her three times when she was a teen in London, New York and on Jeffrey Epstein’s private Caribbean island.
In each of the three encounters, Giuffre claimed, she was ordered by Epstein and his cohort Ghislaine Maxwell to have sex with Andrew.
She “feared death or physical injury to herself” if she did not comply with Maxwell and Epstein’s orders, according to the suit.
The allegations permanently damaged Andrew’s reputation — he was stripped of his military and royal titles by Buckingham Palace in January.
In a statement Tuesday, Giuffre’s attorney, David Boies, said they were pleased the matter was finally over.
“We are pleased that the settlement that was agreed to last month has now been completed,” Boies said. “This is an important step, but it should not be the last step in holding Jeffrey Epstein’s enablers and participants to account.”
This story originally appeared on New York Post.
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