The sex trafficking and prostitution charges of convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein have been very prevalent news in recent months since he was arrested in July. Epstein was found dead in his Manhattan jail cell in August while awaiting trial regarding these charges. In a recent interview with BBC, Prince Andrew, Duke of York, responded to questions regarding his friendship with Epstein, as well as allegations that he took part in the exploitation of women with Epstein.  

Prince Andrew stayed in the home of Epstein in 2010 after Epstein had become a convicted pedophile. While Prince Andrew regrets doing this, he rejects many of the other allegations against Epstein, such as the allegations involving exploitation and sex trafficking. Buckingham Palace released a statement from Prince Andrew stating that he is “‘appalled’ by the allegations against Mr. Epstein and rejected any suggestion that the prince would take part in the ‘exploitation of any human being.’”, drawing a large amount of controversy from the public. He also denied allegations from Virginia Roberts Giuffre that alleged that she was offered to Prince Andrew by Epstein for sex when she was 17. He claims he doesn’t even remember ever meeting Giuffre, despite photo evidence proving otherwise.

Prince Andrew also claims that he saw no indication of sex trafficking or exploitation on Epstein’s part during their friendship. He claims, “At no stage during the limited time I spent with him did I see, witness or suspect any behavior of the sort that subsequently led to his arrest and conviction.” Another woman named Johanna Sjoberg claims that there is a photo of Prince Andrew from 2001 touching both her and Virginia Roberts Giuffre’s breast with a puppet of himself, a claim Prince Andrew has also denied. 

There seem to be a lot of contradictions with what Prince Andrew is saying, making me believe his guilt. If he’s denying meeting Virginia Roberts Giuffre despite photo evidence proving the contrary, then the likelihood of him lying about at least some of the allegations is very high. Prince Andrew has every motivation to lie about these things, rather than to own up to and admit to the allegations if they are true. This fact alone is enough to believe that he is most likely guilty. I believe that he is guilty of these allegations, especially due to the photo evidence proving his guilt. If he didn’t engage in sexual activity with Giuffre, then he would likely have less of a problem mentioning that he only met her briefly. 

If Prince Andrew did, in fact, take part in the things that Giuffre is claiming, which I believe it is very likely that he did, then legal action should be pursued against Prince Andrew. At the very least, this should be looked into as the chances are high that he is guilty. His career in the royal family is right to be jeopardized as these allegations are very serious. I believe that he is guilty and should not have as prominent of a career in the royal family. The next step would be to prove his guilt and encourage legal action.