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Samuel Montgomery
London: Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein asked an exotic dancer for a threesome and “various sex acts”, legal letters claim.
The unnamed woman, who worked at a Florida strip club, claimed to have been driven to a party at Epstein’s Palm Beach house, where she danced for him and the former duke of York, in early 2006.
She was then asked to perform sexual favours, the documents allege, and the two men treated her “like a prostitute”.
In the letter, her lawyer asks for a $US250,000 ($357,000) settlement and claims breach of contract.
The legal letter is one of more than 3 million Epstein-related documents released by the US Department of Justice last week.
The former prince features a number of times in the document release, which includes images of him crouched over an unidentified female.
The files show that Epstein and Mountbatten-Windsor maintained a friendly relationship after Epstein’s 2010 arrest for soliciting a minor, despite Mountbatten-Windsor’s claim to have severed ties at that time.
Emails published last year revealed that Mountbatten-Windsor had kept in contact with the disgraced financier until at least 2011, but the latest release shows that Epstein was being kept abreast of palace events as late as 2017.
US Vice President JD Vance is among Americans calling for the former prince to face questions before Congress about Epstein, who died by suicide in 2019.
In a separate case, Thames Valley Police is assessing allegations that a woman was sent to Britain by Epstein for sex with Mountbatten-Windsor at Royal Lodge when she was in her 20s.
Girls ‘as young as 14 years old’
In the legal letter, dated March 23, 2011, the Florida dancer’s representatives allege that Epstein breached a verbal contract to pay her $US10,000 to perform at the party.
William K. Vogeler, her lawyer, also claims the party included girls “as young as 14 years old” who were “dressed provocatively”.
The letter claims the dancer, from Rachel’s Strip Club, was shown to an upstairs bedroom where she was introduced to Mountbatten-Windsor.
“My client then danced for the men, undressing until she was wearing only a bra and panties,” the lawyer claims, adding, “Mr Epstein and Prince Andrew then told my client they wanted to have a threesome.
“She said she was hired to dance, not to have sex. Mr Epstein said they would pay her later for dancing, and they prevailed upon her to engage in various sex acts.
“After the men had satisfied themselves, they invited my client to take a trip with them to the Virgin Islands. She is said to have declined the invitation before being chauffeured back to the strip club.”
The letter says the unnamed woman would be content to keep the alleged encounter confidential “in exchange for a payment of $US250,000”. This confidentiality would also extend to Mountbatten-Windsor, it states.
The letter, written to Robert Critton, Epstein’s former legal representative, reads: “According to my client, Mr Epstein offered to pay her and other exotic dancers $US10,000 each to perform at your client’s home several years ago.
“A popular dancer at Rachel’s Strip Club, my client was chauffered [sic] to a party at 358 El Brillo Way in West Palm Beach in early 2006. During the party, my client observed other young women dressed provocatively. Some appeared to be as young as 14 years old.
“My client was directed to an upstairs bedroom, where she saw Mr Epstein. She recognised him because she had danced for him at the club before.”
Vogeler’s letter says Epstein only paid the woman $US2000 rather than the $US10,000 that had been “promised”.
He adds: “My client has not pursued her claims against your client until this time because she is not proud of the circumstances of that night. She was working as an exotic dancer, but she was treated like a prostitute.
“To avoid unseemly publicity, my client has asked me to keep her name confidential for purposes of settlement. However, she is prepared to assert her rights in the public courts if necessary.”
Emails between Epstein’s former lawyers described the demand as a “shakedown/extortion”.
It is not known whether Epstein ever settled the claim, which came weeks after the now-notorious picture of Mountbatten-Windsor with his arm around the late Virginia Giuffre first emerged in February 2011.
In a separate case, Giuffre claimed in 2014 that she had been forced to have sex with Mountbatten-Windsor three times – once at the London home of Ghislaine Maxwell, since convicted of sex trafficking, once at Epstein’s address in Manhattan, and once on Little St James, the disgraced financier’s private island.
Mountbatten-Windsor was seen moving out of Royal Lodge on Tuesday and has relocated to Wood Farm Cottage, on the Sandringham estate in Norfolk.
He has denied any wrongdoing.
The Telegraph, London
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