Andrew arrest does not signify there will be justice for trafficking victims, says top US lawyer | UK news
A lawyer working for some of Jeffrey Epstein’s victims has said that despite the arrest of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, he does not believe there will be “real justice” for those trafficked and abused by him and his high-profile associates.
Gloria Allred, a women’s rights lawyer with 50 years of experience, said Britain had acted quickly over allegations that the former prince shared confidential documents with the disgraced financier while he was a trade envoy, but there had not been as much action on sexual assault allegations against him.
Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, he said: “The State acted quickly to make this arrest but there has still been no action taken by the police regarding Andrew’s allegations of crimes against women.
“It appears that allegations of state trade secrets and/or financial crimes are prioritized and acted upon quickly, while allegations of rape, child sexual exploitation, and sex trafficking take many years to investigate and do not result in arrests and accountability for female and girl victims.”
King Charles’ brother has denied raping Virginia Giuffre, who died by suicide before the publication of her memoirs in April last year and previously left court with the alleged victim. Another woman has since claimed he harassed her.
Allred added: “Yet the UK is ahead of the US in demanding accountability from the powerful men who were part of Jeffrey Epstein’s social and business circles.
“And unlike in the United States, there is no accountability in the criminal justice system in the United States and no meaningful accountability in the civil justice system for Jeffrey Epstein and the powerful men who conspired to sexually abuse or sex traffic children and adult female victims.”
He said the Justice Department in the US used to be a separate agency from the president, but now “sort of acts like the president’s own private law firm” and that Donald Trump cannot be forced to prosecute any of the alleged criminals.
Although by law all files that are part of the state’s investigation into Epstein must be released, there are still undisclosed documents. “In other words, we can’t see all the files, and it seems as if the names of the alleged perpetrators (rich, powerful, famous men) are being suppressed in some cases, while the survivors are being punished by revealing their names,” he said.
He said Mountbatten-Windsor’s arrest would “make no difference” to the chances of anyone being prosecuted in the US. “While it would be nice, I can’t say it’s going to happen,” he added.
