Prince Andrew is set to face a civil sex case trial in the US after a judge threw out his bid to dismiss Virginia Giuffre’s sexual assault case.
Giuffre is suing the British royal, claiming he sexually assaulted her when she was 17 – a minor under US law – after she was trafficked by convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Queen Elizabeth's son has categorically denied all allegations against him and had hoped to have her lawsuit thrown out largely due to a settlement Giuffre signed in 2009 with his friend Epstein, which he claimed released him from liability.
READ MORE: Prince Andrew effort to toss sex assault suit hits roadblock
“The 2009 Agreement cannot be said to demonstrate, clearly and unambiguously, that the parties intended the instrument ‘directly’, ‘primarily ‘or ‘substantially’ to benefit Prince Andrew,” Judge Lewis Kaplan wrote in his 46-page reasoning.
“As a matter of Florida law, the Court cannot rewrite the 2009 Agreement to give the defendants rights where the agreement does not clearly manifest an intent to create them.”
It means the case against the Duke of York could be heard later this year.
In court documents, Giuffre alleges she was the victim of sex trafficking and abuse by powerful men.
Buckingham Palace declined to comment, saying “we would not comment on what is an ongoing legal matter”.
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