Maxwell responsible verdict doesn’t bode nicely for Prince Andrew, specialists say – Nationwide

Prince Andrew wasn’t on trial within the Ghislaine Maxwell intercourse trafficking case, however her conviction is dangerous information for the person who’s ninth in line to the British throne.

With the conclusion of the Maxwell case, consideration will now flip to a U.S. civil swimsuit during which the plaintiff alleges Maxwell and long-time boyfriend Jeffrey Epstein took her to London, New York and the U.S. Virgin Islands to have intercourse with Andrew when she was underage.

Andrew denies the allegations, however Wednesday’s verdict exhibits that a minimum of one American jury was keen to consider the younger girls trafficked by Epstein and Maxwell in a legal case, the place the usual of proof is larger than in civil circumstances.

“To the extent there’s overlap of proof with respect to Prince Andrew’s case, it actually doesn’t bode nicely,” mentioned Bradley Simon, a former U.S. federal prosecutor who now works as a protection legal professional in advanced civil circumstances. “However, as I mentioned, each case hinges by itself particular information and the judges will all the time instruct the jury on that.”

Maxwell was convicted Wednesday of intercourse trafficking and conspiracy fees after a month-long trial in New York.

Whereas U.S. legal circumstances have to be proved past an inexpensive doubt, civil defendants might be ordered to pay monetary damages if they’re discovered accountable based mostly on a preponderance of the proof.

The decision is problematic for Andrew as a result of he has lengthy been pals with Maxwell, daughter of the late rags-to-riches media tycoon Robert Maxwell. Even after Epstein was charged with intercourse crimes, Andrew did not distance himself from her.

These hyperlinks have already diminished the prince’s standing.

0:57
Prince Andrew gained’t face fees over sexual assault declare towards minor, U.Ok. police say

Andrew was compelled to surrender his duties as a working member of the royal household after a disastrous 2019 interview with the BBC that solely elevated public concern about his ties to Epstein and Maxwell. The prince was extensively criticized for his rationalization of why he maintained contact with Epstein after the financier was accused of sexual misconduct and for failing to point out empathy for Epstein’s victims.

Though the Maxwell trial didn’t supply any sensational new allegations about Andrew, it as soon as once more reminds individuals concerning the sordid allegations and weakens his standing with the general public, mentioned Chris Scott of Slateford, a London regulation agency that focuses on reputational points.

“It simply provides credibility to the accounts of individuals,” Scott instructed The Related Press. “You could have a legal court docket discovering now within the U.S. supporting that there was the trafficking occurring. In a way, it turns into a lot more durable for individuals to run the angle that that is all made up whenever you do have that credibility increase. So I believe that that will probably be very problematic for him.”

The civil swimsuit towards Andrew was filed final August by Virginia Giuffre, who says she was 17 when she was flown to London to have intercourse with Andrew at Maxwell’s home in Belgravia, an upscale neighbourhood that’s house to many international embassies and rich expatriates. Different encounters with Andrew occurred at Epstein’s properties in Manhattan and the U.S. Virgin Islands, in keeping with her lawsuit.

Giuffre, who wasn’t a part of the legal case, has described Maxwell as a “Mary Poppins” determine who made younger women really feel comfy as they have been lured into Epstein’s internet.

It was at Maxwell’s house in London {that a} photograph of Andrew along with his arm round Giuffre’s waist is alleged to have been taken — a picture that has lengthy been central to Giuffre’s allegations. Within the BBC interview, Andrew recommended the picture had been faked.

“I’ve no recollection of ever assembly this woman,” he mentioned. “None in anyway.”

Given the excessive stakes for Andrew, one query surrounding the civil swimsuit is whether or not it would ever get to trial. Gloria Allred, who represents various Epstein’s victims, instructed the BBC she expects the prince’s attorneys to file a collection of procedural challenges to attempt to derail the case.

This technique has already been on show.

Andrew initially denied that he had been legally served with court docket papers notifying him of the lawsuit. Then in October, his attorneys requested Decide Lewis A. Kaplan to throw out the swimsuit, saying the prince by no means sexually abused Giuffre and that they believed she sued Andrew “to attain one other payday at his expense and on the expense of these closest to him.” Final week, they mounted one other problem, arguing that Giuffre’s lawsuit must be thrown out as a result of she not lives within the U.S.

Andrew met Maxwell whereas she was learning historical past on the College of Oxford within the early Nineteen Eighties.

Like her formidable and well-connected father, Ghislaine Maxwell grew to become a grasp networker, constructing a protracted checklist of contacts on this planet of wealth and energy during which she grew up.

After graduating, she labored for the household publishing empire in quite a lot of roles. In 1991, on the age of 29, she grew to become her father’s U.S. emissary after he purchased the New York Each day Information amid efforts to compete with fellow media tycoon — and New York Publish proprietor — Rupert Murdoch.

Robert Maxwell died later that 12 months when he fell off his yacht, the Girl Ghislaine, within the Canary Islands, an occasion some noticed as an accident and others a suicide. Traders quickly found that his wealth was an phantasm: Maxwell had diverted tons of of thousands and thousands of kilos from his corporations’ pension funds to prop up his publishing empire.

Quickly after her father’s demise, Ghislaine Maxwell was photographed sitting subsequent to Epstein throughout a memorial occasion on the Plaza Resort in Manhattan.

Maxwell introduced star energy to her relationship with Epstein, and the 2 have been quickly attending events with the likes of Invoice Clinton and Donald Trump. Andrew would later invite Maxwell and Epstein to Windsor Citadel and Sandringham, Queen Elizabeth II’s nation property.

Ian Maxwell mentioned Thursday that the household nonetheless believes his sister is harmless and can help efforts to attraction her conviction.

“We’re very disillusioned with the decision,” the household mentioned in a press release on Wednesday. “We’ve already began the attraction tonight, and we consider that she’s going to in the end be vindicated.”

Andrew has lately sought to distance himself from Epstein, who killed himself in 2019 whereas awaiting trial on intercourse trafficking fees.

Andrew instructed the BBC that he noticed Epstein a most 3 times a 12 months and generally stayed at considered one of his properties when he was within the U.S.

The prince mentioned he stopped assembly with Epstein in 2006 after he grew to become conscious of a sexual abuse investigation that ultimately led to the financier serving 13 months in jail. Andrew mentioned he had one final assembly with Epstein in December 2010 to inform him they couldn’t stay in touch.

“It could be a substantial stretch to say that he was a really, very shut buddy,” Andrew mentioned.