A U.S. judge has dismissed the sex abuse lawsuit against Britain’s Prince Andrew on Tuesday, three weeks after lawyers for Virginia Guiffre reached a deal.
The prince is to make a substantial donation to his accuser’s charity and declare he never meant to malign her character. U.S. District Judge Lewis A. Kaplan signed court papers dismissing the August lawsuit after lawyers on both sides asked him to do so earlier in the day.
The judge had given them until March 17 to complete the deal or he would set a trial date. The lawsuit cannot be refiled. The lawyers revealed three weeks ago that they had tentatively agreed to a settlement in which the prince would donate to Virginia Giuffre’s charity and make the declaration about her character.
Andrew strenuously denied Giuffre’s allegations after she sued him, accusing the British royal of sexually abusing her while she travelled with financier Jeffrey Epstein in 2001 when she was seventeen.
Giuffre, 38, reached the settlement with Andrew after the judge rejected the prince’s bid to win early dismissal of the lawsuit earlier this year.
