A victim of Jeffrey Epstein has settled a lawsuit against Harvard law professor Alan Dershowitz and released a statement indicating she possibly made a mistake in accusing him of sexual assault.
Virginia Giuffre, who says she was kept as a sex slave to Epstein and his convicted accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell, sued Dershowitz months before the late sex trafficker’s arrest in the summer of 2019.
The settlement ends three years of litigation—during which Dershowitz adamantly defended himself and counter-sued Giuffre, a high-profile survivor of Epstein’s abuse.
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The New York Times first reported that Giuffre was releasing a joint statement announcing the settlement.
In the joint statement obtained by The Daily Beast, Giuffre, her attorney David Boies, and Dershowitz said the resolution of the case “does not involve the payment of any money by anyone or anything else.”
“I have long believed that I was trafficked by Jeffrey Epstein to Alan Dershowitz,” Giuffre said in her statement. “However, I was very young at the time, it was a very stressful and traumatic environment, and Mr. Dershowitz had from the beginning consistently denied these allegations.”
“I now recognize I may have made a mistake in identifying Mr. Dershowitz,” Giuffre added. “This litigation has been very stressful and burdensome for me and my family, and we believe it is time to bring it to an end and move on with our lives.”
For his part, Dershowitz said, “As I have said from the beginning, I never had sex with Ms. Giuffre. I have nevertheless come to believe that at the time she accused me she believed what she said.”
“Ms. Giuffre is to be commended for her courage in now stating publicly that she may have been mistaken about me. She has suffered much at the hands of Jeffrey Epstein, and I commend her work combatting the evil of sex trafficking.”
Dershowitz then referred to his longtime legal brawl with Boies, who has represented multiple other victims of Epstein including Maria and Annie Farmer.
“I also now believe that my allegations that David Boies engaged in an extortion plot and in suborning perjury were mistaken,” Dershowitz stated.
In remarks of his own, Boies said that he agreed “that the time has come to end this litigation and move on.”
“I know that Alan Dershowitz has suffered greatly from the allegation of sexual abuse made against him—an allegation that he has consistently, and vehemently, denied,” Boies continued. “I also know that this litigation has imposed, and continues to impose, a significant burden on Ms. Giuffre.
“I appreciate Mr. Dershowitz’s recognition that I was not engaged in an extortion plot or in suborning perjury. I accept each of their statements in the spirit in which they are made, and I wish each of them well.”
In her lawsuit, Giuffre accused Dershowitz of defamation and referred to him as “Epstein’s lawyer, close friend, and co-conspirator” who was “also a participant in sex-trafficking, including as one of the men to whom Epstein lent out Plaintiff for sex.”
The complaint claimed that Dershowitz sexually abused Giuffre “on numerous occasions.”
After Giuffre filed her suit, Dershowitz told The Daily Beast: “I welcome it. This lawsuit gives me the opportunity I’ve been looking for to prove Virginia Roberts has committed perjury and will continue to commit perjury in federal court.”
Dershowitz had previously persuaded U.S. District Judge Loretta Preska to disqualify Boies from Giuffre’s lawsuit against him; the professor claimed there was a conflict of interest because he was briefly a client of Boies’ firm and had provided an attorney with confidential information related to his battle against Giuffre’s claims.
Giuffre’s new counsel, Charles J. Cooper, filed a letter with the court in July indicating that the parties would aim for a March 2023 trial date.
The letter indicated that Giuffre’s team planned to call multiple witnesses in person at trial including Giuffre, Boies, and three other lawyers who’ve worked with Giuffre: a partner at Boies’ firm, Sigrid McCawley; Brad Edwards; and Paul Cassell.
Cooper wrote that they also planned to call lawyer David Stone and a British actress and former model who accused Epstein of abuse.
On Sept. 1, court records show, Preska granted Giuffre’s request for an emergency teleconference, if necessary, during Dershowitz’s deposition the following week. “The Court has full confidence that experienced counsel will conduct themselves with professionalism and that Mr. Dershowitz will similarly conduct himself with propriety during the deposition,” Preska wrote in her order. “If warranted, however, the parties may attempt to seek relief from the Court…”
After Boies was booted from Giuffre’s case, he filed a defamation suit against Dershowitz in New York state court over his claims that Boies was engaged in an extortion scheme.
Dershowitz, the complaint alleged, “repeatedly asserted” that Boies extorted or tried to extort Victoria’s Secret billionaire Les Wexner—another longtime confidant of Epstein’s—with similar claims of sexual abuse of Epstein victims.
In response, Dershowitz brought counterclaims against Boies, including claims of defamation and intentional infliction of emotional distress. The case was also settled on Tuesday.
Giuffre first accused Dershowitz of abuse in 2014, when she submitted an affidavit as part of a federal lawsuit two Epstein victims filed against the government.
“I had sexual intercourse with Dershowitz at least six times,” that affidavit stated, adding that these alleged encounters occurred at Epstein’s homes around the country and U.S. Virgin Islands. “The first time was when I was about 16, early on in my servitude to Epstein, and it continued until I was 19.”
Giuffre’s affidavit also detailed sexual abuse accusations against British royal Prince Andrew, who earlier this year settled a lawsuit Giuffre filed against him.
“Prince Andrew has never intended to malign Ms. Giuffre’s character, and he accepts that she has suffered both as an established victim of abuse and as the result of unfair public attacks,” read a joint statement released following the settlement.
“It is known that Jeffrey Epstein trafficked countless young girls over many years. Prince Andrew regrets his association with Epstein, and commends the bravery of Ms. Giuffre and other survivors in standing up for themselves and others.”
