The Metropolitan Police have disembarked on looking further into sex abuse claims against Prince Andrew and Jeffery Epstein.
The statement from the police only named Epstein, who was 66 when he killed himself in a federal jail in Manhattan in 2019 while in custody on sex trafficking charges. In August, Virginia Giuffre, one of Epstein’s longtime accusers, sued Prince Andrew claiming that he sexually assaulted her when she was underage at the London home of Ghislaine Maxwell.
The prince, who has been relieved of his duties, has denied the claim. In late 2019, he told the BBC that he did not have sex with the woman, saying, “It didn’t happen.”
The Guardian newspaper reported that Met officers dropped their investigation on Sunday. The decision reportedly came after they reviewed at least one document tied to Giuffre’s civil claim against the prince.
Police said in the statement that they were contacted in January 2015 by a third party concerning Epstein. About four months later, police said they were contacted by representatives of an individual who made “non-recent” sex-trafficking allegations against the rich financier and a British woman.
The statement said the department looked into claims about alleged sex trafficking in central London dating back to 2001, and determined that the probe would be largely focused outside the U.K.
“Officers therefore concluded that the MPS was not the appropriate authority to conduct enquiries in these circumstances and, in November 2016, a decision was made that this matter would not proceed to a full criminal investigation,” the statement read.
The statement said that it took a new look at the decision after Epstein’s suicide and had the same conclusion. About a year later, another unnamed individual brought up sex assault allegations against Epstein but “the person did not make a formal statement or wish officers to pursue the allegations. No investigation was commenced.”
The department said it will continue to “liaise with other law enforcement agencies who lead the investigation.”
Sigrid McCawley, the lawyer for Giuffre, told the Sunday Times, “Given the clear and compelling evidence implicating Prince Andrew, the Metropolitan police should reopen its investigation and stand by their statement that no one is above the law.”
