Judge sets deadline for Prince Andrew deposition in U.S sex assault case

A US judge has set a deadline of mid-July next year for Prince Andrew to answer questions under oath in the civil sex assault case against him.

According to a US court document dated October 25, Judge Lewis A. Kaplan set July 14 as the deadline for the submission of all evidence including a potential deposition from the Duke of York.

The scheduling order signed by the judge in New York means that lawyers for Virginia Roberts Giuffre must question Andrew outside of court and submit the interview by that date.

Andrew, Queen Elizabeth's second-oldest son, stands accused of sexual assault by Giuffre, who is suing the prince in New York.

Giuffre, an alleged victim of sex offender and disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein, alleged she was forced to perform sex acts with Andrew. She said she was trafficked by Epstein and forced to have sex with his friends, including the Duke of York, when she was underage.

Giuffre says that the assaults happened in London, New York and the US Virgin Islands, that Andrew was aware that she was a minor (17) when it started, and that she had been trafficked by Epstein.

Andrew, 61, has consistently denied the claims, telling the BBC in 2019: "It didn't happen. I can absolutely categorically tell you it never happened. I have no recollection of ever meeting this lady, none whatsoever."

Earlier this month, the Metropolitan Police Service decided to drop its investigation sparked by the case, after reviewing a number of court documents, including those released in August. The Duke of York was served legal papers for the lawsuit by Giuffre's lawyers in September.