A New York court has disclosed documents from a settlement between Jeffrey Epstein and Virginia Giuffre, revealing that he paid her $500,000 to drop her civil lawsuit.
Virginia Giuffre has now filed a civil suit against the Duke of York, Prince Andrew, alleging sexual assault by the royal when she was a teenager. Prince Andrew has consistently refuted the claims.
Giuffre claims that 20 years ago, she was trafficked to Prince Andrew by both Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell.
The document was released ahead of Tuesday's scheduled hearing in the civil case involving Prince Andrew.
Prince Andrew's lawyers say the 2009 deal indicates she cannot sue the Prince because she agreed to end all legal action against anyone who could be described as a "potential defendant."
Epstein died in prison in 2019, while Maxwell was convicted last week of trafficking young girls to be abused by the late financier.
However, Giuffre's legal team says the Florida settlement terms are irrelevant to her case against the Prince.
In her 2009 claim against Epstein, Giuffre said she was lured into a world of sexual abuse at his Florida home when she was still a minor.
That case never went to trial because, in November of 2009, Epstein agreed to pay Guiffre $500,000 to end her suit against him. The deal was confidential but made public because of its potential importance to the Prince Andrew case.
In the newly released document, Giuffre, referred to by her maiden name Roberts, agreed to "release, acquit, satisfy, and forever discharge" Epstein and "any other person or entity who could have been included as a potential defendant."
The document also says she discharges "potential defendants" from any US legal action, including damages claims dating "from the beginning of the world."
"It is further agreed that this Settlement Agreement represents a final resolution of a disputed claim and is intended to avoid litigation. This Settlement Agreement shall not be construed to be an admission of liability or fault by any party."
"The Parties further confirm and acknowledge that this Settlement Agreement is being entered into without any duress or undue influence," the document concludes.
The precise meaning of the document's wording is expected to be the subject of fierce legal debates in a New York courtroom on Tuesday.
