A woman who accused Jeffrey Epstein of sex abuse and alleges she was forced to have sex with Britain's Prince Andrew when she was 17 says she "hopes he comes clean".
35-year-old Virginia Roberts Giuffre gave evidence in court yesterday about the sex abuse claims against the late Jeffrey Epstein, a former friend of the duke.
66-year-old Epstein - a US financier - was found dead in prison earlier this month, before he was due to face a trial on sex trafficking charges.
Speaking outside court yesterday, Ms Giuffre was questioned about Prince Andrew, who she has previously alleged she was forced to have sex with on three occasions.
She replied: "He knows exactly what he's done and I hope he comes clean about it."
Prince Andrew has always strongly denied the claims against him.
In a statement released over the weekend, the Duke of York said: "At no stage during the limited time I spent with [Jeffrey Epstein] did I see, witness or suspect any behaviour of the sort that subsequently led to his arrest and conviction.
“I have said previously that it was a mistake and an error to see him after his release in 2010 and I can only reiterate my regret that I was mistaken to think that what I thought I knew of him was evidently not the real person, given what we now know.”
He added: “This is a difficult time for everyone involved and I am at a loss to be able to understand or explain Mr Epstein’s lifestyle.
"I deplore the exploitation of any human being and would not condone, participate in, or encourage any such behaviour.”
Epstein court hearing
Yesterday, more than 20 women who claim to have been sexually abused by Jeffrey Epstein vented their anger during a court hearing.
He had been arrested on 6 July and pleaded not guilty to federal charges of sex trafficking involving dozens of girls as young as 14.
Ms Giuffre has said that at the age of 15, she was recruited to perform sex acts on Epstein while working at Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago club in Florida.
Speaking outside the court in Manhattan yesterday, Ms Giuffre said: "It's not how Jeffrey died, it's how he lived.
"I was recruited at a very young age from Mar-a-Lago and entrapped in a world that I didn't understand and I've been fighting that very world to this day, and I won't stop fighting - I will never be silenced until these people are brought to justice."
Other women who say they were sexually abused by Epstein told the court hearing that he was a "depraved and cowardly human being" and that he eats away at their souls.
