Prince Andrew accuser speaks out in 'devastating' broadcast for royal family
Virginia Roberts, who claims she was trafficked by Jeffrey Epstein and forced to have sex with Prince Andrew on three occasions nearly 20 years ago, tells her story in a BBC News interview. Spectator USA's Dominic Green reacts to the fallout.
Virginia Roberts, who said she was trafficked by convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein and forced to have sex with Prince Andrew on three occasions nearly 20 years ago, claims she has been informed by the FBI about a “credible death threat” made against her.
The 36-year-old, who now goes by Virginia Giuffre, made the allegation on Twitter Wednesday, which is just a day after she posted a cryptic message on the social media site saying she is in no way “suicidal.”
“In response to the overwhelming amount of support I have received, I want to say a huge thank you to everyone who is standing up beside me fighting for our children to have a safer future,” she tweeted. “I have been informed from the F.B.I there has been a credible death threat against me.”
On Tuesday, Roberts wrote that there were “many evil people” who want her quieted after she came forward with her shocking story. She is known as one of Epstein’s most outspoken accusers and has asserted the Duke of York was one of the men she was forced to have sex with, an accusation that has led to his stepping down from official royal duties.
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“I am making it publicy [sic] known that in no way, shape or form am I sucidal [sic],” she wrote. “I have made this known to my therapist and GP- If something happens to me- in the sake of my family do not let this go away and help me to protect them. Too many evil people want to see me quiteted [sic].”
Roberts did a BBC interview earlier this month in which she described being trafficked to London in 2001. She told the outlet Epstein and his girlfriend, Ghislaine Maxwell, took her to a club where she met Prince Andrew.
“I was sitting there like I was always told to do. Sit there, be quiet, be polite, laugh if someone says something funny,” she said. “I wasn’t chained to a sink, but these powerful people were my chains. I didn’t know what would happen.”
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Prince Andrew (right) is dealing with backlash from critics and media personalities over an interview about his relationship with now-deceased sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and the numerous sexual assault allegations against the British royal. (Getty)
Roberts also vividly described meeting Andrew, now 59, for the first time.
"It was horrible and this guy was sweating all over me," she recalled. "His sweat was like it was raining basically everywhere. I was just like grossed out from it, but I knew I had to keep him happy because that’s what Jeffrey and Ghislaine would expect from me.
"In the car, Ghislaine tells me that I have to do for Andrew what I do for Jeffrey — and that just made me sick. I just didn’t expect that from royalty. I just didn’t expect that from someone people look up to and admire.”
Roberts went to describe her alleged sexual encounter with the prince in some detail.
Photo from 2001 that was included in court files released last week shows Prince Andrew with his arm around the waist of 17-year-old Virginia Giuffre who says Jeffrey Epstein paid her to have sex with the prince. Andrew has denied the charges. In the background is Epstein's girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell. (Florida Southern District Court) (U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals)
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"There was a bath,” she said. “It started there, then went into the bedroom. It didn’t last very long, the whole procedure. It was disgusting.”
She said: “He got up and he said 'Thanks'. I sat there in bed, just horrified and ashamed and felt dirty."
Roberts admitted that her memory was foggy at the time and that she might have some dates and place wrong but insisted she was certain of the key facts.
She also slammed Andrew’s claim that a photograph showing him and Roberts together with the Prince's arms around her waist was doctored.
PRINCE ANDREW ACCUSER VIRGINIA ROBERTS SPEAKS OUT, ASKS UK PUBLIC TO 'STAND UP BESIDE’ HER
In this Aug. 27, 2019, photo, Virginia Roberts Giuffre, who says she was trafficked by sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, holds a news conference outside a Manhattan court where sexual assault claimants invited by a judge addressed a hearing following Epstein's jailhouse death in New York. Prince Andrew suffered fresh scrutiny Monday night, Dec. 2, when Giuffre, who told BBC she was a trafficking victim made to have sex with him when she was 17, asked the British public to support her quest for justice. ((AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews))
“The people on the inside are going to keep coming with these ridiculous excuses, like his arm was elongated or the photo was doctored,” she said. “I’m calling BS on this. He knows what happened. I know what happened. And there’s only one of us telling the truth, and I know that’s me.”
People magazine reported that Buckingham Palace told the BBC that the Duke of York “unequivocally regrets his ill-judged association with Jeffrey Epstein and “deeply sympathizes with those affected who want some form of closure.”
The palace also stressed that “it is emphatically denied that the Duke of York had any form of sexual contact or relationship with Virginia Roberts. Any claim to the contrary is false and without foundation.”
In a previous interview with the BBC, Andrew claimed he had “no recollection of ever meeting” Roberts, “none whatsoever.” He has since stepped down from royal duties “for the foreseeable future” because of his friendship with Epstein and the allegations of sexual wrongdoing with an underage girl. He says he is willing to cooperate with appropriate law enforcement inquiries if required to do so.
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Prince Andrew, Duke of York leaves the headquarters of Crossrail at Canary Wharf on March 7, 2011, in London, England. Prince Andrew is under increasing pressure after a series of damaging revelations about him surfaced, including criticism over his friendship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, an American financier. (Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)
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Roberts asked the British people to "stand up beside me, help me fight this fight, to not accept this as something that is OK."
"This is not some sordid sex story," Roberts said. "This is a story of being trafficked, this is a story of abuse and this is a story of your guys' royalty,”
A lawyer for Maxwell, who has not been charged with any crimes, did not immediately respond to Fox News' request for comment. Epstein died in a New York prison last August in what has been ruled a suicide.
Fox News’ Nate Day, Brie Stimson and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
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