The Manhattan judge overseeing Virginia Roberts Giuffre’s sex abuse lawsuit against Prince Andrew has requested help from authorities in the UK and Australia to help facilitate depositions in the case.
In a series of letters filed Monday, federal Judge Lewis Kaplan asked authorities in the UK for “international judicial assistance” in obtaining testimony from Robert Olney and Shukri Walker.
Olney previously worked as Andrew’s assistant, and Walker has said in press interviews that she saw the embattled royal at a London nightclub around the same time Giuffre claims she was abused by him.
On Jan. 14, Giuffre’s attorney wrote in a court filing that they intended to depose Walker and Olney as part of their case against Andrew.
In the filing, Giuffre’s lawyer said they were seeking from Olney “any communication with or regarding Plaintiff, as Defendant claims he has never met Plaintiff and never sexually abused her.”
Kaplan wrote to Australian authorities to request testimony from Giuffre’s husband, Robert, and her psychologist, Dr. Judith Lightfoot.
Andrew’s attorneys are seeking depositions from the pair, in part, to unearth statements she’s made about the royal and her childhood trauma and abuse.
They also want to ask Robert where Giuffre has lived since 2002, according to the letter filed by Kaplan. Andrew’s attorneys have argued she’s not allowed to bring the suit in New York because she’s a longtime resident of Australia.
Giuffre, now 38, sued Andrew in August claiming she was trafficked to the royal by Jeffrey Epstein and his cohort, Ghislaine Maxwell.
The Florida native alleges that Andrew had sex with her at least three times when she was a teen in London, New York and on Epstein’s private Caribbean island.
In each instance, according to the suit, Giuffre feared death or physical injury if she did not follow through with the sexual encounters.
Andrew has emphatically denied the claims and has said he does not remember meeting Giuffre.