Prince Andrew Underage Sex Scandal Update: Palace Denies Statutory Rape Charges

Prince Andrew, or the Duke of York just returned to Britain from the Swiss ski resort, Verbier, on Sunday, and came home to Buckingham Palace, which is defending him over sex abuse charges. Some news outlets are disclosing that there is a hidden deal that is trying to save the fifth in line to the British throne from US prosecution.

Prince Andrew returned to UK amid charges that he had an illicit relationship with a teenage American girl, 30-year-old Virginia Roberts when she was 17---under the permitted age of consent, according to rt.com.

The name of the woman in the filing is Jane Doe #3, but Buckingham Palace referred to her as Virginia Roberts. Several British newspapers have also named the woman, according to reuters.com.

She had accused Prince Andrew in Florida of having sex many times with her. She was charging the US multimillionaire Jeffrey Epstein, who was "loaning out" the teenage girl to friends and associates. In 2008, Epstein had been imprisoned for 18 months, as he had been putting an underage girl in danger.

On Sunday, the businessman was exposed arriving at a "non-prosecution" deal in which he agreed to relatively minor charges so that he could drop the more serious ones in Florida.

The agreement permitted "co-conspirators" of Epstein to not face "criminal charges". Hence, if the charges against the British royal is disclosed and proven, his friends and others would not face US prosecution.

On Sunday, Buckingham Palace requested the media editors to remember and follow their responsibilities according to the Independent Press Standards Organization's guidelines. Palace lawyers were also reportedly asked to review the coverage and check the legal position with respect to the weekend papers.

Moreover, the Palace put out a statement from the other aides, who denied the claims that had been filed against Prince Andrew. The prince wrote a vehement denial when he went on a vacation to Verbier, and confirmed that all the allegations were "false and without any foundation."

 "The Duke did not want these claims to go uncontested," the statement said. It was not correct to comment on the royal family's private life or ongoing legal cases, it added.

More than 40 of Epstein's victims have opposed him. Even the attorney responsible for the secret "non-prosecution" deal seems to back the latest deal. In a letter from 2011, attorney R. Alexander Acosta said the new information could have altered the outcome of Epstein's trial.

On Monday, Virginia Roberts' father confirmed that she had been flown to London by Epstein, where she had spent some time with Prince Andrew. Her father confirmed that the visit required that a trip to the prince's mother, Queen Elizabeth II, was also arranged. Buckingham Palace, however, affirmed that there had never been any such meet.