UK Police Seek To Widen Ex-Prince Andrew Probe, Including Sexual Misconduct Allegations
LONDON (AP) — British police appealed for witnesses Friday in a bid to expand the investigation. ex Prince Andrew’s potential crimes, including sexual abuse.
Thames Valley Police released the statement while updating journalists on its investigation into allegations of violence. misconduct in public office by the former prince now known as Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor. The force covers the area in west London where Mountbatten-Windsor lived for many years.
Mountbatten-Windsor was arrested on February 19 and detained for hours while police questioned him about the allegations. Linked to his friendship with late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The arrest was an extraordinary move in a country where authorities once sought to protect the royal family from embarrassment.
Mountbatten-Windsor has repeatedly denied wrongdoing.
Police have previously said they are “assessing” reports that Mountbatten-Windsor sent trading reports to Epstein in 2010, when the then prince was Britain’s special envoy for international trade. Those reports were based on correspondence between the two men that became public when the U.S. Department of Justice released millions of pages of documents related to its investigation. epstein.
But detectives have renewed their appeal for witnesses amid concerns that the public believed they were only investigating allegations linked to trading reports, Britain’s Press Association reported; whereas in reality misconduct in public office may apply to a much broader list of offences.
Deputy Chief Constable Oliver Wright said: “Public misconduct is an offense that can take many different forms, making the investigation complex.” “Our team of highly experienced detectives is working diligently on a significant amount of information from the public and other sources.”
Misconduct in public office may include sharing confidential financial information, financial misconduct, willful dereliction of duty, and sexual misconduct. This also includes corruption and improper interference, conflict of interest, perversion of the course of justice, dishonesty or fraudulent behavior or misconduct leading to personal gain.
Police said they were investigating “various aspects of the alleged misconduct” following the release of the US documents and were working with the Department of Justice to obtain additional information regarding the investigation.
Thames Valley Police also released an update on its investigation into allegations that a woman was taken to a venue in Windsor for sexual purposes in 2010.
“If she wishes to report this to the police, it will be taken seriously and handled with care, sensitivity and respect for her privacy,” police said in a statement.
Florida lawyer Brad Edwards told the BBC in January that he represented a woman who said Epstein sent her to England to have sexual intercourse with Mountbatten-Windsor at his home in Windsor in 2010.
King Charles III stripped his younger brother of his royal titles While trying to distract the royal family from the fallout of the nuclear disaster late last year. Epstein scandal.
These files showed how the wealthy financier used an international network of rich, powerful friends to gain influence and sexually exploit young women and girls.
The fallout from the release of the document was felt strongly in the United Kingdom, where the scandal raised questions about how power is exercised by the upper echelon of society, such as the aristocracy, senior politicians and influential business owners.
Nine police forces in Britain said they were investigating possible wrongdoing regarding Epstein.
Former British ambassador to the United States Peter Mandelson She was fired last year after documents revealed she had a longer and deeper relationship with Epstein than she had previously admitted.
