Virginia Giuffre's father 'fears for his daughter's safety' over Prince Andrew allegations

Bonnie Christian3 December 2019

The father of Prince Andrew’s accuser has said he “fears for her safety” and there is “no doubt she is telling the truth”.

Sky Roberts appeared on Good Morning Britain to discuss a BBC Panorama interview with his daughter, Virigina Giuffre on Monday night.

Ms Giuffre claims she was trafficked by the since disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein and forced to have sex with Andrew when she was aged 17, below the state’s age of consent. Andrew has denied the allegations.

“He knows the truth and what he really did,” Mr Roberts said.

“I fear for Virginia’s safety, she’s just telling the truth and letting the world know what these people are.”

Duke of York's accuser Virginia Giuffre
PA

Andrew appeared on BBC's Newsnight in November to discuss his relationship with Epstein and the Ms Giuffre's allegations. It was described as a "car crash" and he has since withdrawn from public duties.

Mr Roberts said he had seen the duke's interview, saying: "He’s not telling the truth and I think most of Britain knows that."

He continued: "I feel so sorry for my daughter.

"She’s very brave to be going through all this and to come up against all these powerful people.

"I feel really sorry that all this happened but it did happen and Prince Andrew should pay for it.

"She has no reason to not tell the truth and he has every reason to deny it - because of being a royal.

Sky Roberts appears on Good Morning Britain
ITV

"He has young daughters, what if it was his daughter that went through this?

"These powerful people that pick on young people they should be prosecuted."

Mr Roberts said he had "no idea" this had happened to his daughter and had not spoken about it with her.

"She’s probably not comfortable talking to me about it

"She knows I know."

He added: "I wish I had known all this was going on but I didn’t.

Prince Andrew: The Duke of York - In pictures

King Charles III coronation
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"She’s a very good actress, she would come home from these trips and would say nothing about it.

"I’m glad she’s out of it and that she’s fighting back and we’re very proud of her."

Mr Roberts secured his daughter a job at Donald Trump's resort Mar-a-Lago, where he was working and after a "few weeks" Ms Giuffre had been "recruited" by Ghislaine Maxwell, who is accused of procuring girls for Epstein.

"(Ms Giuffre) was excited because she could learn massage therapy," Mr Roberts said.

"It thought it was good for her to learn different things."

Mr Roberts said he insisted on first meeting Epstein and took his daughter to his mansion.

Jeffrey Epstein: Two correctional officers responsible for guarding Jeffrey Epstein the night before he took his own life are expected to face criminal charges this week for falsifying prison records
AP

"He looked like a regular guy to me. There was no way I could tell what kind of person he was, he seemed perfectly normal."

He added that he is "furious" now he knows about the allegations against Epstein and Ms Maxwell.

"I’m furious with the guy, really p***** off with the whole thing now," he said.

Epstein killed himself in August in a New York prison while he was being held on sex trafficking charges.

On Monday's BBC Panaroma episode, Ms Giuffre alleged how she was brought to London by Epstein in 2001, introduced to Andrew and taken to Tramp nightclub, and asked by the duke to dance.

She told Panorama reporter Darragh Macintyre: “He is the most hideous dancer I’ve ever seen in my life.

“It was horrible and this guy was sweating all over me, his sweat was like it was raining basically everywhere, I was just like grossed out from it, but I knew I had to keep him happy because that’s what Jeffrey and Ghislaine would have expected from me.”

In his recent Newsnight interview, Andrew claimed he had a medical condition in 2001, after suffering an overdose of adrenaline in the Falklands War when he was shot at, which meant he did not sweat.

When they had left the club, Ms Giuffre said the socialite Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein’s then-girlfriend, gave her instructions.

Ms Giuffre said: “In the car Ghislaine tells me that I have to do for Andrew what I do for Jeffrey and that just made me sick.”

She said that later that evening she had sex with Andrew upstairs at Maxwell’s house in Belgravia.

The duke has denied meeting Ms Giuffre, then called Virginia Roberts, saying: “I can absolutely categorically tell you it never happened.

"I have no recollection of ever meeting this lady, none whatsoever.”

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