Prince Andrew no surprise

[Pixxie7]

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

[Gonnagetgoing]

Well that's even more of an excuse for a republic and to get rid of this outdated monarchy.

[takingouttherubbish]

@queenofarles

It’s not illegal to have sex with a 17 year old in New York either ,
So it’s a question of wether she agreed to sleeping with him or not.
Was she trafficked ? This is something I’ve thought about a lot,she couldn’t have gone from NYC to U.K. , unnoticed? It’s impossible .

people are trafficked all around the world, travelling across borders, all the time

[queenofarles]

LoislovesStewie ive said this many times too, where were her parents ? Why are they not taking the blame , she’s not a kidnapped person.
They must have signed some sort of consent papers for her to work and travel with JE.

She’s a victim of both her parents and JF.

[ancientgran]

@LoislovesStewie

I think you will find that the law is the Sexual Offences Act 2003, which deals with trafficking.
As an aside I wonder if her parents actually thought through what their daughter was doing with Epstein. Were they gullible or what? If she was a minor did they not think to ask what she was doing being taken out of the country?

I think she didn't have a great family background did she? I read she was fostered at one point, was abused by a family friend as a young child and was living with another sex trafficker as a 14 year old.

Her family don't seem to have taken great care of her, maybe she should sue them as well.

[julieca]

@LoislovesStewie you can ask the same of all those parents who allowed their boys to attend "sleepovers" at Michael Jackson's mansion.
Some parents are very naive, others are overwhelmed and dazzled by the fame. But we know predators and abusers focus on vulnerable children, especially if their parents won't or can't protect them. That is nothing new. That is why it is the role of the state to protect these children instead.

[julieca]

@ancientgran blame the men who rape and abuse children.

[julieca]

@MarieIVanArkleStinks yes there is proof she was trafficked. But Prince Andrew has the connections to get the charges dropped. This is corruption.

[ChurchofLatterDayPaints]

There is a strong case that PA should have reasonably known this girl was being controlled and was a trafficking victim.

Of course he knew. It was second nature to him. His Divine Right to treat women like utter crap.

As if JE was the only global PAEDOPHILE that PA was involved with, during that same period of his parasitic playboy lifestyle.

www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/feb/15/fashion-executive-accused-in-lawsuit-reportedly-hosted-prince-andrew-at-bahamas-estate.

[takingouttherubbish]

I think that even if the evidence against PA isn't sufficient, even if he is innocent, the authorities need to acknowledge the significant problem we have across the world, trafficking, darkweb sites, in relation to sexual exploitaton, and set out what is going to be done about it.

[ancientgran]

[quote julieca]@ancientgran blame the men who rape and abuse children.[/quote]
Blaming the men who rape and abuse children doesn't excuse parents who allow their teenage daughter to travel round the world with a wealthy older man. He was giving her money, don't you think a reasonable parent would question what was going on?

[julieca]

[quote CBUK2K]@takingouttherubbish There are a great many women who chose to trade youth and looks for wealth and privilege rather than going out and earning it for themselves.[/quote]
That is a disgusting comment when we are talking about a trafficked child. Fucking disgusting.

[ancientgran]

[quote julieca]@LoislovesStewie you can ask the same of all those parents who allowed their boys to attend "sleepovers" at Michael Jackson's mansion.
Some parents are very naive, others are overwhelmed and dazzled by the fame. But we know predators and abusers focus on vulnerable children, especially if their parents won't or can't protect them. That is nothing new. That is why it is the role of the state to protect these children instead.[/quote]
It is also the responsibility of the parents. I'm pretty sure the vast majority of parents wouldn't allow their children to be doing sleepovers with grown men or would question what their teenage daughter was doing with a millionaire.

[julieca]

@ancientgran Children are abused all the time because their parents cant or wont protect them.
Are you suggesting the state should not prosecute these men because their parents didn't protect them?

[throwa]

So she was 17 when the age of consent here was 16. So that's fine. The law which applies is the law of the country in which the crime was committed - doesn't matter what the age of consent is in the USA.

She was trafficked - ok this may come out when Ghislaine Maxwell gets into court - so if this is proven, with factual evidence to support it which stands up in a court of law, then this is a crime.

But you then have to prove that Prince Andrew knew that she was trafficked and took advantage of this - if he can prove that he didn't know this, or the accusers can't prove that he did know this, and we are talking 'prove beyond reasonable doubt here', then it will not be a crime.

Given the length of time that has passed since the alleged incident, you can see why the Met have dropped this, given the % of rape convictions is about 1%, when such a long time has passed since the incident, and you also have to prove that he knew that she was trafficked (as opposed to knowing she was 17, knowing that she was above the age of consent in this country, and thinking, alright then). The Met won't be able to prove this beyond reasonable doubt in a court of law and so they have dropped the case.

It might not be ethical, it might not even reflect what did actually happen, but there has to be evidence to support alternative views, and given he's said all along he knew that she was 17 but didn't know that she was trafficked, 20 years on it's going to be extremely difficult to prove in a court of law anything other than he had sex with a 17 year old whom he thought was up for it.

[julieca]

Okay so are you all saying if a man rapes and abuses a child when the parents have been poor parents, the man should get off? Hey the parents should have protected their kids, so the kids were fair game for a predator.

[takingouttherubbish]

[quote CBUK2K]@takingouttherubbish There are a great many women who chose to trade youth and looks for wealth and privilege rather than going out and earning it for themselves.[/quote]
@CBUK2K I am so shocked at your post. There are millions of children of all ages who are sexually exploited. My post was about trafficking where people are kidnapped or coerced. Are you not aware that this happens?

[prh47bridge]

Exactly. Of course trafficking laws existed in 2000. What a ridiculous comment.

Yes, trafficking laws existed but they have changed. It did not become an offence to pay for sex with someone who has been trafficked until 2009. Even today, it is not an offence to have sex with someone who has been trafficked unless you pay or promise to pay for it.

[queenofarles]

people are trafficked all around the world, travelling across borders, all the time not on private planes where passports need to be checked .
She couldn’t have gone unnoticed entering France for example.

[LivingOnAnIsland]

@lnsufficientFuns

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

I hate them all.
I hate this country.

And we hate you right back xx

[julieca]

@throwa legally in the UK you do not need to prove a child is trafficked. If she was trafficked, having sex with her is rape and illegal.
There is zero reason legally to drop this case and there are multiple comments on this thread defending the case being dropped made by people who are demonstrating zero understanding of English law.

[MarieIVanArkleStinks]

[quote CBUK2K]@MarieIVanArkleStinks Maybe you should let the court decide? If a rich/famous person offers an adult an all exposes paid trip and they choose to go this is not trafficking.[/quote]
The court did decide. Virginia Giuffre brought successful legal action against Jeffrey Epstein.

[Jaysmith71]

Prince Andrew has committed no offence in the UK.

The person Plod needs to speak to is Ms Maxwell, now enjoying her US prison food.

[takingouttherubbish]

@queenofarles

people are trafficked all around the world, travelling across borders, all the time not on private planes where passports need to be checked .
She couldn’t have gone unnoticed entering France for example.

Trafficking takes place also where there is coercion, abuse of vulnerability, having a passport makes not difference. You get people being trafficked across borders with passports.