Steve Scully, Jeffrey Epstein's former telecoms specialist, is prepared to testify under oath that he saw Prince Andrew groping Virginia Roberts on the late convicted sex offender's "paedo island", The Sun reported on Saturday. The 38-year-old who currently lives in Australia with her husband is also known by her married name Virginia Giuffre.
Scully told the UK tabloid that he spotted the Duke of York "together" with a bikini-clad Roberts near a pool "between 2001 and 2004".
Prince Andrew, Virginia Roberts Giuffre, and Ghislaine Maxwell. This photo was included in an affidavit in which Giuffre alleged that she was directed to have sex with Andrew
© Photo : Florida Southern District Court
"I was working on the phone and he [Andrew] was by the pool with Virginia. As soon as I saw him, I recognised him. I thought, 'If I had a camera in my bag right now, I'd have a $50,000 picture'", Epstein's former employee said.
The 71-year-old claimed the two were "bumping and grinding" for several minutes before lying on lounge chairs by the pool, adding, "she [Roberts] stood like a kid would stand behind a parent".
"If Virginia's lawyers call, I will definitely speak to them and I would give a deposition under oath telling them what I saw. The nice thing about the truth is that it doesn't change! There's no question in my mind that I saw Prince Andrew and Virginia together and no question that he would remember the incident either. He should come clean", Scully pointed out.
The claims come as Prince Andrew has remained silent since Giuffre filed her lawsuit against him in New York on Monday, in which the 38-year-old woman accuses Queen Elizabeth's second son of having sex with her on at least three occasions. Roberts claims the first time happened in London on 10 March 2001 when she was only 17, while the Duke of York denies all the accusations.
In this Aug. 27, 2019, photo, Virginia Roberts Giuffre, who says she was trafficked by sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, holds a news conference outside a Manhattan court where sexual assault claimants invited by a judge addressed a hearing following Epstein's jailhouse death in New York
© AP Photo / Bebeto Matthews
The Daily Mail, in turn, cited unnamed sources close to Roberts as saying that the "arrogant" prince has underestimated the severity of the case against him.
The sources added that they "gave him multiple times to respond, to come to the table to discuss this, and they ignored our letters, ignored our calls".
"They were given multiple opportunities to get together, to start a discussion and avoid any of this becoming public. There was nothing but a wall of silence", the insiders argued.
In the so-called "car-crash" interview with the BBC in November 2019, Prince Andrew defended himself against the sexual harassment allegations, but admitted that he "still" does not regret being friends with Epstein.
Epstein died in a New York prison in August 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges, with officials declaring that he committed suicide.
The cause of his death, however, remains disputed amid conspiracy theories claiming he was killed to keep him from testifying against his high-profile friends, including Prince Andrew, Donald Trump, and Bill Clinton.