Prince Andrew Accuser Doubles Down Over Epstein Sex Tapes

Prince Andrew was named as the subject of a Jeffrey Epstein sex tape by a woman who once retracted the allegation but has now repeated it.

Sarah Ransome told The New Yorker in 2019 her account of the video footage, originally given to a journalist, was false and intended to draw attention to the scandal.

However, in the wake of the latest document release she has doubled down on her original claim, saying she only backtracked because she feared reprisals.

The bizarre series of events is a fresh example of how the Duke of York has been unable to escape the cloud his friendship with convicted pedophile Epstein has placed over him.

Ransome wrote an email to a journalist in which she said: "When my friend had sexual intercourse with Clinton, Prince Andrew and Richard Branson, sex tapes were in fact filmed on each separate occasion by Jeffrey.

"Thank God she managed to get a hold of some footage of the filmed sex tapes, which clearly identify the faces of [Bill] Clinton, Prince Andrew and Branson having sexual intercourse with her.

"Frustratingly enough Epstein was not seen in any of the footage but he was clever like that!

"When my friend eventually had the courage to speak out and went to the police in 2008 to report what had happened, nothing was done and she was utterly humiliated by the police department where she went to report what had happened with Epstein, Clinton, Branson and Prince Andrew."

Virginia Giuffre accused Andrew of sexual assault in a civil case that he settled out of court for an undisclosed sum in 2022. He did not accept liability and denies the allegation.

Clinton has denied knowing about Epstein's criminal sex trafficking. The Virgin Group, founded and owned by Richard Branson, issued a statement to Newsweek that read: "In response to the false allegations published on Monday 8 and Tuesday 9 January 2024 and reported in the media, the Virgin Group has confirmed that the claim in question is false, baseless and unfounded—as we have noted in our responses provided to the media previously."

"We categorically reject all allegations made by Sarah Ransome," a spokesperson added. "In 2016, Ms Ransome retracted her claims and then in 2019 after settling her claims with Epstein and Maxwell, she also admitted to The New Yorker that the 'tapes' had been 'invented.' The allegations are baseless and unfounded.

"The actions of Jeffrey Epstein were abhorrent and we support the right to justice for the many victims impacted by his abuse."

In 2019, journalist Connie Bruck wrote in The New Yorker: "Ransome was another imperfect witness. In the fall of 2016, she had suggested to the New York Post that she had sex tapes of half a dozen prominent people, including Bill Clinton and Donald Trump—but couldn't provide the tapes when asked.

"(Ransome told me that she had invented the tapes to draw attention to Epstein's behavior, and to make him believe that she had 'evidence that would come out if he harmed me.')"

However, in a new twist following the latest document dump, Ransome told ITV's Good Morning Britain: "There are videos that exist. The people that know they exist I'm sure are very frightened of them being released."

"Everything was recorded," on Epstein's private island, she added, saying Epstein and "Ghislaine Maxwell, amongst others, regularly enforced that if I ever did come forward, myself and my family would be harmed."

Ransome participated in the Ghislaine Maxwell criminal court case, submitting a witness impact statement as part of sentencing.

"On one visit to [Epstein's private] island," she wrote, "the sexual demands, degradation and humiliation became so horrific that I tried to escape by attempting to jump off a cliff into shark-infested waters, but was caught by Maxwell and company moments before jumping.

"At the time, the extremely risky escape seemed more appealing than being raped one more time."

Nigel Cawthorne, author of Prince Andrew, Maxwell, Epstein and the Palace, told Newsweek: "Obviously, this doesn't do the monarchy any good. This is not going to go away because there are more documents and then we have the Ghislaine Maxwell appeal.

"They've been trying to somehow resurrect [Andrew's] reputation but obviously that's impossible. It's time that he's got to answer these questions under oath somewhere."

Maxwell was convicted in December 2021 of sex trafficking and sentenced in summer 2022 but has lodged an appeal.

Jack Royston is Newsweek's chief royal correspondent based in London. You can find him on X, formerly Twitter, at @jack_royston and read his stories on Newsweek's The Royals Facebook page.

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