Published: 09:36, November 4, 2021 | Updated: 18:01, November 4, 2021
Prince Andrew could face trial in sexual assault suit next fall
By Bloomberg

In this Nov 03, 2019 photo, Britain's Prince Andrew, Duke of York arrives for the ASEAN Business and Investment Summit in Bangkok on the sidelines of the 35th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit. (LILLIAN SUWANRUMPHA / AFP)

Prince Andrew could face trial in New York as soon as next fall in a suit by a woman who claims he sexually assaulted her when she was a teenager.

US District Judge Lewis Kaplan on Wednesday said he was thinking of setting a trial date between September and December 2022 in the case brought by Virginia Giuffre, who alleges Jeffrey Epstein  “lent” her out to the British royal for abuse. 

Prince Andrew contends Virginia Giuffre’s allegations are motivated by profit, accusing her of selling accounts to the press and secretly settling lawsuits against Epstein and his former girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell

Andrew has denied assaulting Giuffre and asked Kaplan to dismiss the suit. 

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The prince contends Giuffre’s allegations are motivated by profit, accusing her of selling accounts to the press and secretly settling lawsuits against Epstein and his former girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell. 

Maxwell is scheduled to go on trial later this month on sex-trafficking charges.

Kaplan has set a mid-July deadline to complete depositions in the case. Lawyers for both parties told the judge they each expect to seek depositions of between eight and 12 people in the case, including Giuffre and Andrew. 

READ MORE: Prince Andrew: Epstein deal releases him from assault claim

The case is Giuffre v. Prince Andrew, 21-cv-06702, US District Court, Southern District of New York (Manhattan).