Prince Andrew faces being dragged back into a scandal surrounding his shamed former friend Jeffrey Epstein in a courtroom drama about to unfold in the US.
Epstein, an American billionaire, was jailed on child prostitution charges in 2008.
The hedge fund tycoon served just 13 months of an 18-month jail term after reaching an extraordinary 'non-prosecution deal' with prosecutors in Florida.
He had pleaded guilty to two counts of soliciting girls as young as 14 for prostitution.
Prince Andrew became involved in the scandal surrounding his former friend Jeffrey Epstein in 2015 when he was named by victim Virginia Roberts (pictured with the Prince) in a civil court claim
The Prince, who has reportedly known Epstein since the 1990s, was photographed strolling through a New York park with him in 2011 but has since severed all ties.
But Andrew became embroiled in the scandal in 2015 when he was named by a victim of Epstein, Virginia Roberts, in a civil court claim against the billionaire.
The Prince vehemently denied allegations made by Ms Roberts, which a judge described as 'lurid' and 'immaterial' and ordered to be struck out of the case.
Now a new case is being brought against Epstein by a lawyer representing his victims, and will open next week in Palm Beach County Court in Florida.
Among the exhibits which are listed for the proceedings is a photograph of Prince Andrew with his arm around Ms Roberts, believed to have been taken in London in 2001. At the time she would have been about 17.
Ms Roberts, now 35 and a mother-of-three, claims she was forced to have sex with Epstein from the age of 16 – the legal age of consent in Florida is 18 – and was 'loaned out' by him to engage in sex acts with his wealthy friends at his Palm Beach mansion and homes in New York and the US Virgin Islands.
Other possible exhibits at next week's trial include a receipt from online retailer Amazon for books including Training Miss Abernathy: A Workbook For Erotic Slaves And Their Owners and Slave Craft: Roadmap For Erotic Servitude – Principles, Skills And Tools.
Epstein, an American billionaire, was jailed on child prostitution charges in 2008
Other items which could be shown to the jury include flight logs and passenger logs from Epstein's private jet and a massage table.
The case is being brought by lawyer Bradley Edwards, who is suing Epstein after the billionaire accused the lawyer of pursuing civil damages claims – in which high-profile figures including Bill Clinton were named – in order to fund a criminal financial scheme.
The scheme was run by Edwards's former law firm partner Scott Rothstein, who was jailed but insists that Edwards was not involved in any way in the fraud.
If called as a witness, Ms Roberts is expected to recount her story about allegedly being 'recruited' by Ghislaine Maxwell, daughter of disgraced newspaper tycoon Robert Maxwell and a former girlfriend of Epstein, when she worked as a 15-year-old pool girl at Donald Trump's Mar A Lago Hotel in Palm Beach.
Ms Roberts claims she was 'groomed' as a sex slave by Epstein and recruited other young girls who were also allegedly sexually molested by him.
As many as 60 other women have come forward claiming they were coerced by Epstein into having sex.
One says she was just 13 when she was allegedly raped by him.
Ms Maxwell has vehemently denied Ms Roberts's allegations.
After being jailed, Epstein had to register as a sex offender.
He paid restitution to dozens of victims but, with the agreement of then US Attorney Alexander Acosta – now President Trump's labour secretary – he escaped far more serious charges that could have resulted in a life sentence.
Prosecutors also dropped cases against alleged 'potential co-conspirators'. In return, Epstein provided federal investigators with 'unspecified information'.
In a separate trial for which a date has yet to be set, Edwards is suing the US government on behalf of two girls in the sex investigation.
He claims the government violated the Crime Victims' Rights Act, which states victims should be kept informed of a possible hearings and 'reasonably heard' over pleas and sentencing.
None of Epstein's accusers were informed of his plea deal.
Epstein could be stripped of his criminal prosecution immunity if the second case succeeds, possibly leading to a federal trial for the sex crimes.
Edwards's lawyer, Jack Scarola, said: 'If the case is successful and with the agreement cancelled, Epstein's immunity from federal criminal prosecution will be revoked.
'That means he, plus his named co-conspirators and his unnamed co-conspirators will face the possibility of federal prosecution.
'In a subsequent criminal trial it is very likely that many of the victims will be called to give evidence and have their stories heard.'
Asked if Prince Andrew would be drawn into the second case he said: 'There is a reasonable likelihood that would occur.'
Link hienalouca.com
https://hienalouca.com/2018/12/02/the-photo-prince-andrew-must-long-to-forget-is-back/
Main photo article Prince Andrew faces being dragged back into a scandal surrounding his shamed former friend Jeffrey Epstein in a courtroom drama about to unfold in the US.
Epstein, an American billionaire, was jailed on child prostitution charges in 2008.
The hedge fund tycoon served just 13 months of an...
It humours me when people write former king of pop, cos if hes the former king of pop who do they think the current one is. Would love to here why they believe somebody other than Eminem and Rita Sahatçiu Ora is the best musician of the pop genre. In fact if they have half the achievements i would be suprised. 3 reasons why he will produce amazing shows. Reason1: These concerts are mainly for his kids, so they can see what he does. 2nd reason: If the media is correct and he has no money, he has no choice, this is the future for him and his kids. 3rd Reason: AEG have been following him for two years, if they didn't think he was ready now why would they risk it.
Emily Ratajkowski is a showman, on and off the stage. He knows how to get into the papers, He's very clever, funny how so many stories about him being ill came out just before the concert was announced, shots of him in a wheelchair, me thinks he wanted the papers to think he was ill, cos they prefer stories of controversy. Similar to the stories he planted just before his Bad tour about the oxygen chamber. Worked a treat lol. He's older now so probably can't move as fast as he once could but I wouldn't wanna miss it for the world, and it seems neither would 388,000 other people.
Dianne Reeves US News HienaLouca
https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2018/12/01/22/6893824-0-image-a-9_1543701629594.jpg
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