Sexual Assault: Can Of Worms Open Prince Andrew Under Fresh Pressure

Not only did a New York court decide that four other victims were telling the truth, but one of Maxwell’s convictions included a reference to Ms Giuffre.

According to report, the Duke of York has been warned that the conviction of Ghislaine Maxwell proves that justice will prevail “whether you’re a president or a prince”.

 as lawyers in the US said that the guilty verdict in the Maxwell case will give succour to the woman who has accused the Duke of sexual assault. One said he should be “quaking in his boots”.

The Duke, who denies the claims, hopes that a judge will throw out a civil case being brought against him by Virginia Roberts Giuffre at a hearing scheduled for January 4.

Attempts to paint her as an unreliable witness, however, have been dealt a blow after Maxwell was convicted of sex trafficking underage girls for paedophile Jeffrey Epstein, who died in prison in 2019. Both Epstein and Maxwell were friends of the Duke.

Sigrid McCawley, who represents Ms Giuffre and Maxwell victim Annie Farmer, told The Telegraph: “This verdict told the American public that regardless of power, or privilege, whether you’re a president or a prince, you will be held accountable.

“What we saw at the trial is a mention of Prince Andrew and people of his stature. The jury looked at Ghislaine, who has summered at the Queen’s homes and lived a life of incredible privilege associating with those types of people, and yet they disregarded all that. I see a real change in the legal landscape.”

Ms Giuffre is seeking unspecified damages, claiming the Duke assaulted or raped her on three separate occasions in 2001 when she was 17. The Duke denies her claims and says he has no recollection of meeting her.

After Maxwell was found guilty of five of the six counts she faced, Ms Giuffre, now 38, said: “It’s definitely not over.”

The scandal has dogged Prince Andrew for more than a decade, ever since Ms Giuffre’s allegations, and the photograph of her with the Duke and Maxwell, were made public.

The accusations have caused great embarrassment to the Royal family and saw the Duke step down from public duties before Ms Giuffre’s civil suit was launched in New York in August.

Ian Maxwell, Ghislaine’s brother, told The Telegraph on Thursday that his family planned to appeal her guilty verdict on the grounds she was “denied” a fair trial.

“This is a shocking result which reflects the fact that Ghislaine has been denied the right to a fair trial, starting with the appalling conditions in which she has been held for over 18 months and which seriously impacted her ability to participate in her own defence,” he said.

Lawyers for the victims said Maxwell, 60, should not be the last defendant brought before a jury over the Epstein scandal, amid speculation that other high-profile associates whose names were found in his so-called “little black book” might now face questions.

While Ms Giuffre was not a witness in Maxwell’s trial, she loomed large over proceedings, with almost 250 mentions of her and multiple photographs shown to the jury.

Legal experts also noted that the required burden of proof in a criminal trial was higher than in a civil case.

Bradley Simon, a former federal prosecutor who now works as a defence attorney in New York, said: “Every case rests on its own facts. The jury verdict, however, will surely embolden the Plaintiff’s attorneys in the case against Prince Andrew.”