Prince Andrew’s accuser says ‘others must be held accountable’ after Ghislaine Maxwell guilty verdict

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By Nika Shakhnazarova

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Prince Andrew's accuser Virginia Roberts Giuffre has said "others must be held accountable" following Ghislaine Maxwell's conviction.

Giuffre, nee Roberts, 38, claims that she was sexually assaulted by the Queen's second son three times: once in New York City, once in London at Maxwell's home, and once on Epstein's private island, known as Little St. James, in the US Virgin Islands.

The 38-year-old filed a lawsuit in New York back in August. Prince Andrew has denied all allegations against him.

Maxwell, 60, has been found guilty of helping the late financier Jeffrey Epstein sexually abuse teenage girls, Reuters reports.

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She was found guilty of five federal charges, including sex trafficking of a minor, transporting a minor with the intent to engage in criminal sexual activity, and three related counts of conspiracy.

Following the news of the socialite's guilty verdict, Roberts has spoken out.

Roberts said she had "lived with the horrors of Maxwell’s abuse" and commended the four women who testified against the 60-year-old during her New York trial.

Saying she has "faith" others will now face justice, Roberts took to Twitter to share her thoughts.

"My soul yearned for justice for years and today the jury gave me just that. I will remember this day always," she began.

"Having lived with the horrors of Maxwell’s abuse, my heart goes out to the many other girls and young women who suffered at her hands and whose lives she destroyed.

"I hope that today is not the end but rather another step in justice being served. Maxwell did not act alone. Others must be held accountable. I have faith that they will be."

It comes as Prince Andrew asked a judge to dismiss the sex abuse lawsuit against him by claiming Roberts was over the age of consent.

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Roberts filed the case under the New York Child Victims' Act - which allowed victims to sue their alleged abusers if they were younger than 18 when it took place.

At the time, Virginia said she was holding Prince Andrew "accountable for what he did to me".

But the royal has asked a judge to throw out the lawsuit, claiming the legislation is "unconstitutional" and the "issue of consent is unsettled".

Per Independent, Prince Andrew's lawyer has argued for the civil claim against the royal to be thrown out by claiming that the woman who has accused him of sexual assault has a "tortured interpretation" of the law.

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Hollywood-based lawyer Andrew Brettler is known for having represented many high-profile people that had been accused of sexual assault.

What's more, Brettler says the act is "not a reasonable mechanism to address the injustice of child sexual abuse in New York" as classifies those under the age of 18 as minors "even though the age of consent in New York is 17".

Prince Andrew argued, "the issue of consent is unsettled with regard to those - like Giuffre - who were between the ages of 17 and 18."

His lawyers wrote: "The Act revives claims for those who allegedly suffered harm as a result of certain sexual offenses they claim were committed against them when they were under the age of 18, even though the age of consent in New York is 17."

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