Prince Andrew Sex Case: Judge Orders Removal of 'Lurid' Details in Suit
Allegations that a woman was forced to have sex with Prince Andrew when she was 17 are set to be removed from the record of a civil case in Florida.
A woman named Virginia Roberts alleged that financier Jeffrey Epstein, a former friend of Prince Andrew, named the Duke of York in court papers in Florida as the person she was forced by Epstein to have sex with, the BBC reported on Tuesday.
She claimed she was forced to have sex with Prince Andrew in London, New York and on a private Caribbean island owned by Epstein between 1999 and 2002.
U.S. District Judge Kenneth Marra in West Palm Beach, Florida, said the "lurid" allegations were "unnecessary" to decide the civil case.
Buckingham Palace had "emphatically" denied such claims, saying "any suggestion of impropriety with under-age minors is categorically untrue" and without "any foundation."
Marra, however, did not express any opinion on the "validity or veracity" of the allegations against the duke, the BBC said.
Two other women are suing the U.S. government for allegedly failing to protect their rights when it entered into a plea deal with Epstein, who faced jail time in 2008 to 2009 for a sex offense with a minor.
Roberts had been trying to join the claim against the government, but the U.S. judge blocked her attempt and said her claims about the duke were "unnecessary to the determination" of the case.
"The factual details regarding with whom and where the Jane Does engaged in sexual activities are immaterial and impertinent to this central claim," Marra ruled.
Another person accused of having sex with Ms. Roberts in the court papers was former Harvard law professor Alan Dershowitz, who said he felt vindicated after the judge decided to erase the "salacious pleadings."
Lawyers for Ms. Robert, meanwhile, said they did not believe this was the end of the case for their client.
Prince Andrew said in a world business forum in January that he wanted to "reiterate" the Palace's denials.