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‘I did not suspect’: Prince Andrew issues second Epstein statement

The Queen's second-eldest son is yet to answer to federal authorities about his friendship with Epstein.

The Queen's second-eldest son is yet to answer to federal authorities about his friendship with Epstein. Photo: Getty

Prince Andrew maintains he never saw or suspected Jeffrey Epstein of any sex crimes during the time he spent with the late US financier.

The Duke of York has faced weeks of scrutiny over his friendship with Epstein, who committed suicide in a Manhattan jail cell earlier this month while being held on sex-trafficking charges.

Andrew, who is the second son of Queen Elizabeth, issued a lengthy statement Sunday (Australian time), saying he wanted to “clarify the facts” around his relationship with Epstein.

“At no stage during the limited time I spent with him did I see, witness or suspect any behaviour of the sort that subsequently led to his arrest and conviction,” he said.

British media have published a picture which purports to show Andrew waving goodbye to a woman from inside a Manhattan mansion owned by Epstein.

The picture is reported to have been taken in 2010, two years after Epstein pleaded guilty to a Florida state felony prostitution charge and was registered as a sex offender.

US court papers have previously shown that Epstein socialised with Andrew and other high-profile figures, including US President Donald Trump and former president Bill Clinton.

Andrew, 59, said it was a “mistake and error” to see Epstein in 2010 after he pleaded guilty to paying a teenage girl for sex.

He said he first met Epstein in 1999, saw him once or twice a year and stayed at a number of his properties.

“His suicide has left many unanswered questions, and I acknowledge and sympathise with everyone who has been affected and wants some form of closure,” Andrew said.

“What I thought I knew of him was evidently not the real person, given what we now know.”

His latest protestations were issued just days after Buckingham Palace issued a statement in which Andrew rejected any suggestion that he participated in the alleged sex crimes of which Epstein was accused.

Epstein first came under investigation in 2005 after police in Palm Beach, Florida, received reports he had sexually abused underage girls in his mansion there.

By 2007, Epstein was facing a potential federal indictment for sexually abusing dozens of girls between 1999 and 2007. Epstein struck a deal, however, to plead guilty in 2008 to the Florida state felony prostitution charge and register as a sex offender.

Epstein, 66, was arrested on July 6 and pleaded not guilty to federal charges of sex trafficking involving dozens of girls as young as 14.

Despite his death in his New York jail cell, the FBI is still investigating Epstein’s alleged abuses, leading to speculation his former friends and associates could be prosecuted.

-with AAP

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