Prince Andrew's ties with Jeffery Epstein laid bare in unsealed documents

Prince Andrew landed in hot water after the files of Jeffery Epstein lawsuit were made public on Wednesday night, January 3, 2024.

As reported by PEOPLE, the large cache of documents linked with 2015’s case against the disgraced financer, also included a count of harassment against Andrew, who groped a woman named Johanna Sjoberg’s breast at Epstein's home in New York City in 2001.

In a deposition included in the unsealed documents, Sjoberg accused Prince Andrew of placing his hand on her breast, when they posed for a group photo with Maxwell, Giuffre, Epstein, and a puppet similar to Andrew.

"They told us to go get on the couch and so Andrew and Virginia sat on the couch," as revealed by Sjoberg during her deposition.

She further added, "they put the puppet, the puppet on her lap. And so then I sat on Andrew's lap, and I believe on my own volition, and they took the puppet's hands and put it on Virginia's breast, and so Andrew put his on mine."

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However, Sjoberg also admitted that Andrew's gesture was done in a "joking" manner.

In addition to this, the unsealed documents also revealed that in 2014, another victim of Espstein, Jane Doe claimed that she "was forced to have sexual relations with [Prince Andrew] when she was a minor in three separate geographical locations."

However, back in 2022 the lawyers on behalf of King Charles’ brother issued an statement after an out-of-court settlement with Giuffre to set the record straight on the matter.

"Prince Andrew intends to make a substantial donation to Ms. Giuffre's charity in support of victims' rights." the document stated.

"Prince Andrew has never intended to malign Ms. Giuffre's character, and he accepts that she has suffered both as an established victim of abuse and as a result of unfair public attacks," it added.

The statement continued, "It is known that Jeffrey Epstein trafficked countless young girls over many years. Prince Andrew regrets his association with Epstein, and commends the bravery of Ms. Giuffre and other survivors in standing up for themselves and others. He pledges to demonstrate his regret for his association with Epstein by supporting the fight against the evils of sex trafficking, and by supporting its victims."

For the unversed, Jeffery Epstein, who was arrested in July 2019 on charges of sex trafficking, he was denied bail ahead of his trial.

Epstein died in jail, with his death being officially ruled as a suicide by the New York City medical examiner.