TOPLINE British royal Prince Andrew on Monday was served with legal papers in the United States relating to a sexual assault lawsuit filed against him by a woman who has accused him of sexually abusing her when she was a minor, which he denies, in a move that deals a major blow to the royal’s attempt to stall the case and leaves him with the prospect of facing a damaging court case.



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Lawyers for Virginia Giuffre, the accuser, said they sent the civil lawsuit to the prince’s Los Angeles-based lawyer Andrew Brettler by email and FedEx, and both copies were received on Monday, Reuters&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/prince-andrew-is-served-accusers-sexual-assault-lawsuit-united-states-lawyers-2021-09-21/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">reported</a>.



Earlier on Monday, the lawsuit papers arrived at the Royal Courts of Justice in London, Sky News&nbsp;<a href="https://news.sky.com/story/prince-andrew-legal-papers-sent-to-la-lawyer-notifying-him-of-civil-sexual-assault-case-12413215" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">reported</a>.



Under U.S. federal rules, Andrew’s team has 21 days to respond to the lawsuit or possibly face a default judgment.



The 61-year-old royal had been accused by a judge in the U.S. of actively evading all efforts to serve him papers with Giuffre’s lawyers, likening the situation to a “game of hide and seek behind palace walls.”



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Since 2015, Giuffre has alleged that she was forced by financier Jeffrey Epstein and his associate Ghislaine Maxwell to have sex with the prince when she was still a minor. Giuffre said she was sexually abused by the royal at Maxwell’s London home, Epstein&#8217;s mansion in Manhattan and on Epstein&#8217;s private island in the U.S. Virgin Islands. She is seeking unspecified compensatory and punitive damages from the British royal over “severe and lasting” effects caused by Andrew’s alleged actions. Andrew and his legal team have vehemently denied Giuffre’s accusations and have argued that Giuffre’s claims may be invalid under terms of a 2009 settlement reached by Epstein in Florida. In August 2019, Epstein died by suicide in jail while awaiting sex trafficking charges. Maxwell has remained in custody since her 2020 arrest on sex trafficking charges.



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<a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/prince-andrew-is-served-accusers-sexual-assault-lawsuit-united-states-lawyers-2021-09-21/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Prince Andrew is served accuser&#8217;s sexual assault lawsuit in United States</a>&nbsp;(Reuters)



<a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/royal-family/2021/09/20/prince-andrew-urged-ditch-legal-team-fears-strategy-grow/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Prince Andrew formally served sex assault lawsuit in US</a>&nbsp;(The Telegraph)

The Duke Of York, The UK’s Special Representative For International Trade and Investment Visits Crossrail

Prince Andrew Formally Served Virginia Giuffre’s Sexual Assault Lawsuit In U.S.

TOPLINE: The Pennsylvania Supreme Court <a href="https://www.pacourts.us/assets/opinions/Supreme/out/J-100-2020mo%20-%20104821740139246918.pdf?cb=1" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">overturned</a> <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/tommybeer/2020/06/23/bill-cosby-granted-appeal-in-sexual-assault-case/?sh=251327f76228">Bill Cosby&#8217;s</a> sexual assault conviction on Wednesday, paving the way for the 83-year-old to be released from prison after serving more than two years of a three- to ten-year sentence.



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The court said that a promise a previous prosecutor had made not to prosecute Cosby in order to compel him to testify in a civil lawsuit meant he couldn’t legally be charged in the sexual assault case.



In 2018, Cosby was convicted of drugging and sexually assaulting Andrea Constand at his Pennsylvania estate in 2004, leading to a sentence in September 2018 of three to ten years in prison.



But in 2005, then Montgomery County District Attorney Bruce Castor determined the case against Cosby was unwinnable, leading to an agreement that Cosby would not be charged—but he would be deposed for a civil suit brought by Constand.



That deposition was used years later to charge Cosby just days before the statute of limitations for sexual assault was set to expire, leading to a 2017 mistrial after jurors deadlocked.



Cosby was tried again in 2018, and was convicted after prosecutors called several women who’d made similar claims of drugging and sexual assault to testify—which did not happen in the 2017 trial.



The Supreme Court also ruled that allowing the accusers’ testimony was inappropriate, finding it served as more of a character attack than affirming a pattern of criminal behavior.



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“Denying the defendant the benefit of that decision is an affront to fundamental fairness,” the Pennsylvania Supreme Court said of the 2005 agreement. “Particularly when it results in a criminal prosecution that was foregone for more than a decade.”



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Cosby’s publicist, Andrew Wyatt, will&nbsp;<a href="https://abcnews.go.com/US/bill-cosby-released-prison-conviction-vacated/story?id=78582000" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">reportedly</a>&nbsp;pick him up from the state prison in Skippack Township on Wednesday afternoon.



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Before the accusations surfaced, Cosby had a public image as a wholesome comedian and was often referred to as “America’s Dad.” His 1984–92 television series,&nbsp;The Cosby Show,&nbsp;was considered a landmark in television as the first highly popular show to depict a stable and successful Black family. Cosby also created the beloved character “Fat Albert” from his years as a comic and launched an animated series aimed at preschoolers called&nbsp;Little Bill&nbsp;in 1999. His shows were largely pulled from television after the sexual assault allegations became public.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-tangent">TANGENT</h3>



Castor—the DA who made the agreement with Cosby—served as a member of President Donald Trump’s defense team during his second impeachment trial in 2020. His opening statement was widely&nbsp;<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/video/politics/the-strangest-lines-from-bruce-castors-48-minute-open/2021/02/09/5069e0e2-ecd1-4327-8842-8179f5f35a5f_video.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">considered</a>&nbsp;a rambling and bizarre defense.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-surprising-fact">SURPRISING FACT</h3>



A&nbsp;<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/arts-and-entertainment/wp/2018/04/26/hannibal-buress-unwittingly-reignited-the-bill-cosby-firestorm-heres-how-he-dealt-with-the-aftermath/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">moment</a>&nbsp;credited with bringing what had been longstanding—but not widely known—allegations against Cosby into the spotlight came in 2014, when comedian Hannibal Buress mentioned them as part of a joke during a stand-up show at a Philadelphia theater. Buress said he had used the bit for about six months, but a video of the 2014 show widely spread online, leading many to learn of the allegations against Cosby for the first time.



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<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/tommybeer/2020/06/23/bill-cosby-granted-appeal-in-sexual-assault-case/?sh=251327f76228">Bill Cosby Granted Appeal In Sexual Assault Case</a>&nbsp;(Forbes)



<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/arts-and-entertainment/wp/2018/04/26/hannibal-buress-unwittingly-reignited-the-bill-cosby-firestorm-heres-how-he-dealt-with-the-aftermath/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Hannibal Buress unwittingly reignited the Bill Cosby firestorm. Here’s how he dealt with the aftermath.</a> (The Washington Post)



By Nicholas Reimann, Forbes Staff

Sentencing Begins In Bill Cosby Trial

Bill Cosby’s Prison Sentence Overturned

Sixteen-year-old Yaema lives in Kenema, a major city in Sierra Leone, with her aunt who raised her after both her parents passed away when she was still a little child. Around six months ago, one of her uncles sexually assaulted her when he came home drunk. Her aunt dismissed the incident when Yaema told her about it the following day.
“I was warned by my aunty to think carefully about my future before making such an evil accusation,” says Yaema.
Along with the emotional trauma she had to endure after the rape, Yaema now also has a physical reminder of it; she is pregnant. Her aunt will not accept that her brother is guilty. She accuses Yaema of sneaking away from school to play “husband and wife” with her boyfriend.
There is no respite at school either. Yaema goes through a rigorous routine of strapping a bandage across her stomach and wearing oversized cardigans to hide her pregnancy. The strapping, with the help of her friend Hassanatou, takes about an hour each morning. Although the strapping could be detrimental to the health of Yaema and her baby, it is something she is willing to do so she can realize her dream of finishing school and becoming a lawyer one day.
“If my teachers find out I am pregnant I will not be allowed to sit my BECE exams this year because of the ban,” says Yaema.
In April last year, the Sierra Leone government banned pregnant girls from attending school and sitting exams. The Basic Education Certificate of Examination (BECE) qualification is needed to attend senior secondary school.
Hassanatou and Yaema have been best friends since they met in primary six. This year they hope to pass their BECE exams and attend the Modern High School in the country’s capital Freetown.
“It is so unfair that Yaema might not get to graduate this year because of something she had no control over,” rues Hassanatou.
The ban sparked outrage from human rights organizations around the world.
“This is very disturbing for Amnesty International because this stigmatizes over 10,000 girls, destroying their future life chances,” says Sabrina Mahtani, West African Researcher for Amnesty International.
The ban comes at a time when children in Sierra Leone have already missed nine months of school due to the Ebola outbreak.
“This is a practice that predates Ebola and it was more of an informal practice in some schools, but now this informal private practice has been turned into a formal government policy,” says Mahtani.
According to Amnesty International, the Ebola crisis led to young girls becoming victims of sexual attacks and forced marriages. The National Strategy for the Reduction of Teenage Pregnancy, introduced by the government of Sierra Leone in 2013 and cited in the Amnesty International report, states that 28% of girls between the age of 15 and 19 are either mothers or pregnant.
“The Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which was set up after the war in 2004, said that the exclusion of pregnant girls from education is discriminatory and archaic and we think the ban of the pregnant girls is a missed opportunity to correct the previous wrong,” says Mahtani.
There are some who vehemently support the ban though. A teacher, who wishes to remain anonymous, says the classroom is no place for a pregnant girl.
“These young girls are at a vulnerable time in their lives and, unfortunately, they learn from each other. If we encourage pregnant girls to come to school, others will think it is normal and will follow suit,” he says.
Those against the ban argue that it fails to take into account the high levels of sexual violence in Sierra Leone. Yaema attests she is not the only victim of rape.
“Two years ago, one of my good friends was sexually attacked by a group of men on her way home and unfortunately she did not survive the incident,” she says.
The fear of stigmatization prevents young girls from speaking out. In a statement to Amnesty International, Moijueh Kaikai, the Minister of Social Welfare, Gender and Children’s Affairs, says there has to be consequences for the girls that refused to adhere to the “do not touch” instructions issued during the Ebola outbreak.
Yaema, along with many other victims of sexual violence in Sierra Leone, is caught in the crossfire. Needless to say, their plight is agonizing.
“The blame is really being put on girls rather than the government. There is a limited amount of sex education in schools, which is not consistent or comprehensive across all of Sierra Leone and banning pregnant girls from schools does nothing to tackle the underlying causes of teenage pregnancy,” says Mahtani.
Even girls that aren’t pregnant are being humiliated. There are no official provisions for testing whether girls are pregnant. Teachers touch the girls’ stomachs and breasts inappropriately, while some are forced to take urine tests.
“The question that needs to be asked is what is the government doing about those who subject these poor girls to rape and other forms of sexual violence? What punishment is being given to them? Education should be a right for every single one of these girls and not a privilege that can be removed at any time,” says Gloria Ngozi, a human rights expert who works on children’s rights.
Only six in 10 girls between the ages of 15 and 24 in Sierra Leone are literate, according to a government health survey in 2013. With this ban, these figures will only get worse.

Tag: Sexual Abuse

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Prince Andrew Formally Served Virginia Giuffre’s Sexual Assault Lawsuit In U.S.

Bill Cosby’s Prison Sentence Overturned

Pregnant, Blamed , Banned