Prince Andrew no surprise

[Pixxie7]

No surprise that the met have stopped. Their investigation into PA.

[x2boys]

I think prince Andrew is an absolute Twat, but did he know she was trafficked, hes a prince at the end of the day, he s arrogant enough to assume any women would be delighted to have sex with him.

[SpindleWhirl]

He's not much liked, is he?

[Ricekake]

@x2boys

I think prince Andrew is an absolute Twat, but did he know she was trafficked, hes a prince at the end of the day, he s arrogant enough to assume any women would be delighted to have sex with him.

I think that's the crux, and probably impossible to prove.

[RoseAndRose]

@Aspiringmatriarch

Cressida Dick was at school with Ghislaine Maxwell, then at the same Oxford college. I don't think the Met were ever going to 'investigate' this too deeply.

No they weren't at school together

They did overlap at Balliol

[IComeInPeace]

eugh.

But it's not 'the met' who he's in real trouble with is it?
He has still been served by VG's team hasn't he? And he must give evidence/testimony for that. I think.

So luckily it's not all behind him (yet)

[C8H10N4O2]

I did wonder why they were going after him when she was 17 at the time, or am I missing something ?

You are missing coercion, control and trafficking and lack of consent. Unless the suggestion is that so long as a girl is 16 she can't be raped?

We all know that rape is a almost entirely a punishment free crime in this country, especially if the perpetrator knows the victim and/or he is white and has money or power.
Then of course you have the investigation being conducted by an organisation ridden with institutional misogyny into the most powerful family in the country. It was never going to go anywhere.

However there are laws against rape, trafficking and coercion so I can see why someone from outside might mistakenly think these activities would be taken seriously in this country.

[Farahilda]

@Roussette

As I understand it, the fact VG was classed as a minor, means she was still a minor over here. It's irrelevant what age over here is law.

Also, someone said...I wonder what the Met got from VG when they interviewed her.
They haven't. They've had no contact with her I read last night.

Of COURSE they will drop this, no surprise there.
But PA should not be complacent, VG is not giving up, quite rightly, for all trafficked young girls.

Your understanding is wrong.

If it's an offence in US, or any particular state within US, that is where it must be prosecuted. It does not make it an offence elsewhere. So two enthusiastically consenting 17yos are not committing an offence if they have sex here, even if one is visiting from a place with a higher age of consent.

It's different for terrorism, where British (same for all jurisdictions) courts can deal with British citizens who are charged with offences under British law irrespective of where the offence was committed.

We will extradite those who are wanted by other countries for those who are wanted there (the US has made no such request, because he faces no criminal charges here and you cannot be extradited for civil cases). We never prosecute here for actions overseas that are not crimes here.

[goldshade]

@lnsufficientFuns

He’s disgusting
The met are disgusting
The queen is disgusting

I hate them all.
I hate this country.

You sound lovely

[Cam77]

@Insufficient
You can do what the fuck you like if you’re part of the institution
They’re all untouchable
There is so little accountability or shame or consequence.Nothing ever gets challenged unless you’re female and wish to discuss, protect, or defend your rights not to be raped or murdered or otherwise diminished.
This is why women keep being treated like we are.

The head of the British mafia, HR the Queen, is a woman believe it or not.

[Farahilda]

You are missing coercion, control and trafficking and lack of consent. Unless the suggestion is that so long as a girl is 16 she can't be raped

That hinges on whether he knew she was trafficked. If (assuming sexual contact did take place despite his denials) she appeared to be consenting and of age, then there are the makings of a reasonable defence

I think prince Andrew is an absolute Twat, but did he know she was trafficked, hes a prince at the end of the day, he s arrogant enough to assume any women would be delighted to have sex with him

This is a good point

[Cam77]

@x2boys
think prince Andrew is an absolute Twat, but did he know she was trafficked, hes a prince at the end of the day, he s arrogant enough to assume any women would be delighted to have sex with him

If you're a high profile public figure and getting "foot rubs" or whatever from a 17 year old introduced to you by Jeffrey Epstein you're asking for a whole world of trouble. That's before you meet the accused face to face to, apparently, make a little farewell speech.

[Cam77]

@farahilda
If (assuming sexual contact did take place despite his denials) she appeared to be consenting and of age, then there are the makings of a reasonable defence

Yeah and 'm sure Epstein believed he had the makings of a reasonable defence before he got whacked in prison by forces who needed him silenced. I wonder why that happened....

[Powertoyou]

Perhaps he’ll do another interview.

[AnkleDeep]

Exactly this. He could actually be innocent.

Not that MNs will ever conceive that.

MNs like the kangaroo courts where they vote a verdict without knowing full facts and only knowing what they press decide to disclose.

Some Mnetters are obsessed to an unhinged level. I think the police probably know more than random anti-royalists on the internet.

[prh47bridge]

I am not surprised that no action is being taken but not for the reasons the OP suggests. There simply isn't the evidence.

If she had sex with Andrew (which he denies), she was over 16. The fact that she may have been under the age of consent in some states of the USA is irrelevant. She was in this country, so UK laws apply. Her legal action the US is partly based on her being under 18 at the time of the alleged sexual encounters, but she appears to have been over the age of consent in the locations where the alleged encounters took place.

Even if she was trafficked and Andrew did have sex with her, no offence was committed. Whilst it is now an offence to pay for sex with someone who has been trafficked even if you are not aware that they have been trafficked, it was not an offence at the time and criminal laws do not apply retrospectively. Also, she has not alleged that Andrew paid for sex so, even if the encounters had happened after the law changed, Andrew would not have committed any offence.

She alleges that she was raped but the allegations in her legal action are sufficiently non-specific to mean that they fall some way short of proving beyond reasonable doubt that she did not consent and Andrew knew she did not consent.

Cressida Dick was at school with Ghislaine Maxwell

Social media has got this wrong. They were not at Oxford High School together. They both attended this school but at different times. Despite its name, the school caters for ages 4 upwards. Maxwell started her education there and left in 1970 or 1971 whereas Dick did not join the school until 1974.

[Cam77]

Epstein, 66, died weeks later in from what authorities have ruled was a suicide by hanging in that jail, where the former friend of Presidents Donald Trump and Bill Clinton was awaiting trial on charges related to his alleged sexual abuse of dozens of underage girls from 2002 through 2005.

Just from a random CNBC article. Let's be honest, its highly unlikely it was only PA who breathed a sigh of relief when Epstein was whacked or encouraged/assisted suicide.

[SickAndTiredAgain]

You can do what the fuck you like if you’re part of “the institution”

Let’s be honest, looking at the rape conviction rates in this country, you don’t need to be particularly special to get away with it.

[REDHERO]

@AnkleDeep

Exactly this. He could actually be innocent.

Not that MNs will ever conceive that.

MNs like the kangaroo courts where they vote a verdict without knowing full facts and only knowing what they press decide to disclose.

Some Mnetters are obsessed to an unhinged level. I think the police probably know more than random anti-royalists on the internet.

Yes.
Evidence is important in law but not on MN.
I have no idea whether he committed a crime or not. Not liking someone is not enough evidence to find guilty. The civil case will need to be answered.

[RoisinD]

I would be very proud of Virginia if she was my daughter. She has not given up her fight for justice despite so many obstacles put in her way.

[butterpuffed]

The investigations have only stopped in the UK, not in the States.

[IComeInPeace]

@RoisinD

I would be very proud of Virginia if she was my daughter. She has not given up her fight for justice despite so many obstacles put in her way.

Same. She has been through hell but she knows how to control her emotions. She isn't ''triggered' by the questions and that takes WORK. (emotional work).

[derxa]

[quote Isabellabasil]@Pythonista other countries are available yes, but if everyone who is unhappy here since Brexit left, then there would be a big problem as most of them are the educated, public-spirited ones doing jobs like doctor, teacher etc...[/quote]

[C8H10N4O2]

That hinges on whether he knew she was trafficked

And if he took at least basic care to ensure she wasn't. All these rich, powerful men, some supposedly leading brains who apparently lacked the brain cycles to question whether all these poor background very young girls were truly consenting?

All these poor innocent men eh. "I didn't know she was trafficked" is right up there with "she enjoys rough sex".

[Marguerite2000]

@C8H10N4O2

I did wonder why they were going after him when she was 17 at the time, or am I missing something ?

You are missing coercion, control and trafficking and lack of consent. Unless the suggestion is that so long as a girl is 16 she can't be raped?

We all know that rape is a almost entirely a punishment free crime in this country, especially if the perpetrator knows the victim and/or he is white and has money or power.
Then of course you have the investigation being conducted by an organisation ridden with institutional misogyny into the most powerful family in the country. It was never going to go anywhere.

However there are laws against rape, trafficking and coercion so I can see why someone from outside might mistakenly think these activities would be taken seriously in this country.

This law didn't exist at the time though. I think that is why technically speaking he did not break any British law.