Prince Andrew Denies Explosive Court Claims of Coerced Sex with Florida Teen

Buckingham Palace has forcefully denied claims in a Florida court case that Prince Andrew had coerced sex with a Florida teen.

The claims, first reported in The Guardian, stem from a motion filed this week in connection to a long-running lawsuit against billionaire investment banker Jeffrey Epstein.

Epstein, who once had a friendship with the Duke, was convicted of soliciting sex with an underage girl following a plea bargain deal in 2008.

In the civil suit, the woman claims Epstein loaned her out to other wealthy and powerful men, including the Duke of York, the newspaper reports.

A Palace spokesperson, in a prepared statement, called the claims “categorically untrue.”

The full statement says: “This relates to long-running and ongoing civil proceedings in the United States to which the Duke of York is not a party. As such we would not comment in detail. However, for the avoidance of doubt, any suggestion of impropriety with underage minors is categorically untrue.”

Within the new court papers, which were obtained by PEOPLE, the woman, identified only as Jane Doe 3, alleges that she suffered sexual abuse by Epstein from 1999 through 2002.

In the papers, Jane Doe 3 claims she was ordered to have sexual relations with the Duke, 54, in London, New York, and Epstein’s private Caribbean island.

The woman also claims that Epstein told her “to give the prince whatever he demanded” and to “report back on the details,” The Guardian reports.

According to the lawsuit, the woman was 17 at the time and a minor under Florida law.

The Guardian spoke with Jane Doe 3, who said she believes she is being “unjustly victimized” because of her claims.

“These types of aggressive attacks on me are exactly the reason why sexual abuse victims typically remain silent and the reason why I did for a long time,” she said.

“That trend should change,” she added. “I’m not going to be bullied back into silence.”

The Duke, the ex-husband of Sarah, Duchess of York, and father of Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie, has so far not commented directly on the allegations. However, in a 2011 Vanity Fair article, he strenuously denied having sexual contact with women associated with Epstein.