The investigation into allegations that Prince Andrew raped children as part of an elite pedophile ring led by Jeffrey Epstein has been suddenly dropped by British police, even as evidence emerges tying him to the crimes.
The Metropolitan Police confirmed on Sunday that it had concluded its third review of The Duke of York’s child sex trafficking case and would be taking “no further action.”
“As a matter of procedure MPS officers reviewed a document released in August 2021 as part of a US civil action. This review has concluded and we are taking no further action,” a Met spokesperson said.
According to Rt.com, the police were referring to a legal case brought by Virginia Giuffre, a US woman who claims the Duke of York abused her three times, including at the London home of Ghislaine Maxwell, convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein’s alleged madam. In the house, a notorious photo with Andrew’s arm around Guiffre’s waist was allegedly taken.
Guiffre claims she was 17 when Epstein recruited her as part of his sex trafficking network, and that Maxwell “trained her as a sex slave.”
The royal has long denied that he had known Guiffre or has had sex with her, suggesting in a 2019 BBC interview that the photo of them posing together was a fake.
The Met said it would continue to “liaise with other law enforcement agencies who lead the investigation into matters related to Jeffrey Epstein,” while not mentioning Prince Andrew by name.
The review was announced by Met chief Cressida Dick back in August, shortly after Guiffre filed her lawsuit in New York, seeking unspecified damages from Prince Andrew for sexual assault, battery, and emotional distress.
At the time, Dick said that while the police had already reviewed the Epstein case twice and decided not to investigate it, she asked officers to “have another look at the material.” “No-one is above the law,” the commissioner said.
The decision by London police not to proceed with the investigation into Prince Andrew comes amid reports that Scotland Yard interviewed Guiffre about the allegation she has made in the lawsuit. The Met has neither confirmed nor denied contacting the woman.
It comes as a New York judge gave Prince Andrew’s lawyers access to a sealed agreement struck between Epstein and Guiffre in 2009. The prince’s legal team insisted the deal prohibited Guiffre from suing anyone connected to Epstein, relieving the royal of “any and all potential liability.”
Guiffre’s side has argued that the agreement has no bearing on the current case.
