I’ve not made any comment about the scandal surrounding Andrew, Duke of York. After all, everyone will have an opinion and none of us is privy to the facts, which has always been my underlying concern about these historic sex abuse cases. It all boils down to ‘he said’ and ‘she said’ with no actual hard evidence and a jury has to decide whom to believe.
Currently Andrew is trying the false memory defence and is receiving a degree of opprobrium as a consequence. However, the Coronation Street guy was acquitted for precisely this. His accuser not only got mixed up between the actor and the character he portrayed, but the car where she alleged the assault took place wasn’t in his possession until several years later. The jury consequently did not believe her.
So what of Andrew? I have to say, I’ve never much liked him. I was a naval reservist at about the time he was serving – just post the Falklands war. The general feeling was that he was a pompous arse, unlike his sister who was pretty much universally liked and admired. But being a pompous arse isn’t the same thing as being a sexual predator. So was he?
Who knows for sure, although his disastrous television interview didn’t help his case one jot. I would say that he showed poor judgement when he engaged in a friendship with Jeffrey Epstein. He must have known what was going on even if he didn’t engage himself. That said, on a balance of probabilities, it doesn’t look good for him. And it’s a balance of probabilities that will be used in this case, because it’s a civil case, not a criminal one. And that’s why I have underlying concerns. If he is guilty of a criminal offence and there is enough evidence to bring charges, then that is what should happen. But I suspect that there isn’t enough – again, I look at operation Yewtree and the farce that turned out to be. That damaged people’s lives for no good reason and the police were led up the garden path by a fantasist.
Is Andrew’s accuser a fantasists? I don’t know. But how can she produce sufficient verifiable evidence so long after the supposed events? Would a ruling be reliable?
Prince Andrew‘s accuser has vowed to ‘destroy’ him and leave him penniless as the tactics undertaken by the Duke’s legal team were slammed as ‘victim-blaming’ by furious women’s safety campaigners.
That’s not justice, that’s revenge. The justice system is supposed to be impartial with all equal before the law, not about people exacting revenge. As I said, I don’t like the man. I find him an insufferable, pompous bore and he comes across as such. Of course, not having met him in person, I could be completely wrong about him and as I said, none of this actually matters. What does matter is whether there is reliable evidence of guilt. And an alleged victim using a foreign court to sue for damages in order to extract revenge is not the route to achieve that. It says much that the accuser is not trying to go through our legal system.
She claims that she was forced to sleep with the Prince on three occasions by US paedophile Jeffrey Epstein and convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell – the first time when she was 17 and under the legal age of consent under New York law.
Andrew has always vehemently denied the accusations.
Which kind of comes back to my main point – she alleges and he denies. Without reliable evidence, it’s down to a jury to decide whom they will believe, so it could swing either way, although, given that Andrew is a thoroughly unlikeable character, it doesn’t look good for him. But should we be judged on criminal offences because we aren’t very likeable?
And why now, after all this time? Is it because the death of Epstein and the conviction of Maxwell makes it more likely that she will convince a jury on the basis of hearsay evidence?
If he is guilty, then he should be in jail, but that rightly has a high bar of evidence beyond reasonable doubt and I don’t think that is going to fly.
One final point – and it is a pedantic one. I’m sick of them using the word ‘paedophile.’ A paedophile is someone who is sexually attracted to prepubescent children. At 17 at the time, his accuser was under the age of consent in the New York, although over it in the UK, but she most certainly was not prepubescent. He might like ’em young but that doesn’t make him a paedophile. The correct term here is ephebophile. But I guess you can’t whip up righteous indignation with that word.
In the meantime, the firm are engaging in damage limitation, so they don’t seem to fussed about innocent until proven guilty. Unless they know something we don’t?
Three occasions? Once is an accident, twice is carelessness
If true. And that’s the point, is it?
It may be suggested that the real reason for initially pursuing Andrew in a civil case, from which a moderately large amount of cash may be forthcoming, is that this process will then open the way to pursue other regular travellers with Epstein who have massively deeper pockets. No names, no pack-drill, but there are enough reports out there of frequent fliers to suggest that tourism wasn’t their sole interest.
Once Andrew (or his family, more likely) have been cornered publicly into paying up, the rest will meekly fall over and start writing even larger cheques to protect their reputations and avoid similar exposure.
And the lawyers will laugh all the way to the bank – who cares about ‘victims’?
You could well be right. However, it looks like Brenda is not going to be putting her hand into her purse. Randy Andy is very much on his own with this one.
As far as i’m concerned Andrew has no case to answer. This gold digger knew what she was getting into and did well out of it. He would be a fool to get involved with any biased American court who are just out to get him.
I’m somewhat bemused by the idea that an American court thinks it has jurisdiction here. If they were to extradite him, that would be another matter.
I have to say, I’m not clear on the law, there.
Can one be extradited over a civil matter?
I suspect that he did sleep with her, but thought that she was willing because, at 17 years, she would have been able to consent and would, of course, (in his mind) have wanted to sleep with him, he being A Handsome Prince and all. Perhaps he genuinely doesn’t remember her because she was just a bit of totty to him.
Entirely possible. Probable, even.
I’m pleased to see you talk about the (mis)use of the word ‘paedophilia’ – this has always annoyed me too, but raising any objection invariably leads to accusations of pedantry (at best) or nonce apologism (if not worse). There’s a world of difference between sexual activity with a pre-pubescent child who by definition is not a sexual being and relations with a sexually mature adolescent or young adult. This is an important distinction a the former offence is so vile as to deserve its own word.
Correct use of language is a bee in my bonnet.
Never mind Randy Andy.
Horny Harry is back in the news. Obviously didn’t like his uncle (I think he’s his uncle, don’t care that much) taking the headlines from him and his bit of stuff.
Apparently we’re meant to pay for his protection when he’s in the UK, because reasons…
He doesn’t seem to realise that if you wanted to damage the royal family, leaving Harry and Andrew alive would be more effective at this point.
In Harry’s case, if you’re an organised terror group with funds, bung Harry a few quid to help him be a bigger pain in the arse for Lizzy. Very effective.
If it’s a civil action in noo yoik, who better than British royalty to accuse?
Yanks like to point out the sneering and condescending streak on anti-Americanism in the british establishment. It’s matched by a streak of vicious anti britishness and as civil actions are not dependent on too much hard evidence.
Airmiles andy just doesn’t need to gather any more going stateside, and they can award madam as much as they like. I mean it’s not as if he drove on the wrong side of the road and killed someone is it?
I don’t doubt it’s a test case and that there are more lucrative targets available. I’ll be watching with some interest going forward to see who that might be. After all, the democratically and transparently elected can do just about anything it would appear.
I don’t understand why Prince Andrew should respond to anything that comes from a civil court in New York.
Why not just either ignore it completely or, alternatively, issue a statement inviting them to sue him in the UK, or even suggest to them in diplomatic terms that they take the ses and travel option.
This is a serious question – why does Prince Andrew give the New York case any notice at all?
It’s a question I’ve pondered.
Very true
I don’t understand why Prince Andrew should respond to anything that comes from a civil court in New York.
Why not just either ignore it completely or, alternatively, issue a statement inviting them to sue him in the UK, or even suggest to them in diplomatic terms that they take the sex and travel option.
This is a serious question – why does Prince Andrew give the New York case any notice at all?
I would think that Prince Andrew has had sex with scores of women, possibly hundreds.
It would be entirely reasonable for him to think they were having sex with him with full consent, because he is a good looking prince.
Although his sexual morals might not be admirable let’s live in the real world. Celebrities, film stars, footballers, rock stars and more get loads of opportunities with women.
Andrew, and all those others, would forget nearly all of them.
Meanwhile Jerry Lee Lewis & his 13 yr old wife (different because reasons?)
“Jerry Lee Lewis had been warned ahead of his British tour in May 1958. He’d been told by his advisers that he shouldn’t take his new wife to the U.K. with him, but he didn’t listen. He couldn’t see any problem with bringing her with him on the road. He was one of the few who saw things so simply.
There were several issues in the eyes of others. Firstly, Myra Gale Brown was 13 years old. Secondly, she was his cousin, the daughter of his bassist J.W. Brown. Thirdly, she was his third wife. Fourthly, their marriage had taken place before the second divorce had been finalized. And for a bonus, Lewis’ second marriage had also taken place before the previous one was terminated.
When Lewis and his entourage arrived at London’s Heathrow Airport, one of the first American stars to make the journey, many of them expected great things. Elvis Presley had recently joined the army, so the way was clear for Lewis to claim the rock ’n’ roll crown. All those hopes were smashed when British journalist Ray Berry, who was patrolling the airport, asked a simple question of Myra: “Who are you?” Since she hadn’t been given any advice about how to treat reporters, she replied honestly, saying she was the wife of Jerry Lee Lewis.
Read More: When Jerry Lee Lewis Married His 13-Year-Old Cousin | https://ultimateclassicrock.com/jerry-lee-lewis-married-cousin/?utm_source=tsmclip&utm_medium=referral
As a young prince, I suspect he had an emdless line of groupie totty throwing themselves at him: either in the hope of a meal ticket for life as a princess, or just a high status name on their groupie ‘dance card’.
I suspect he fully indulged. Not particularly admirable, but understandable and not illegal.
If he did have sex with the accuser, she would have been a faceless screw among thousands. Quite genuine in having no recollection.
And her accusation that she was ‘forced’ to have the sex: by whom?
She seems to claim she was forced into it, but not by Andy. So his ‘crime’ is what then? Having sex with an apparently willing and consenting female?
If coercion was involved, he wasn’t party to it. Though she was.
Nope. This is a gold-digger trying it on. The usual pension fund for aging whores.
He should simply stonewall this as vexatious and no jurisdiction. Or perhaps he needs to hire a Fiat Uno?
Love it. Send that post to Andy’s lawyer. Suns it up nicely!.
The accuser admitted luring other young girls for Epstein, one of whom said she sent the picture of her with Andy and boasted about bagging a Prince. What makes her different from Ghislaine? Funny of all the names mentioned only two Brits are charged.
The accuser admitted luring other young girls for Epstein, one of whom said she sent the picture of her with Andy and boasted about bagging a Prince. What makes her different from Ghislaine? Funny of all the names mentioned only two Brits are charged. Still some accusers of very high profile people meet a nasty end.