On Tuesday, November 8, Virginia Giuffre dropped the defamation lawsuit she had filed against Alan Dershowitz, a lawyer who she had implicated as having been complicit in the late Jeffrey Epstein's alleged human trafficking ring.
Virginia Giuffre, now 39, initially spoke out against Jeffrey Epstein after claiming that the millionaire and accused predator had trafficked her to several rich and powerful people in the early 2000s, when she was in her teens.
Time magazine reported that on December 30, 2014, Giuffre identified Harvard Law Professor Alan Dershowitz and British Royal Prince Andrew as two of Epstein's associates who she was allegedly pressured into having inappropriate relations with as a minor.
The allegations against Alan Dershowitz
After the initial allegations were made in 2014, several related lawsuits emerged, as Dershowitz had denied Giuffre's claims. In one case, Giuffre filed a defamation lawsuit against Dershowitz in 2019 for calling her a liar. The New York Post reported that Dershowitz proceeded to countersue.
The New York Times stated that during this period, as Dershowitz continued to claim innocence, Giuffre said:
"I'm not going to be bullied back into silence."
In May 2020, Giuffre stated that she had provided s*xual favors to Dershowitz at least six times. She said the first time this occurred she was only 16.
As of Tuesday, both Dershowitz and Giuffre have agreed not to sue each other. In a recent official statement, Giuffre said that she "may have made a mistake in identifying" Alan Dershowitz as a participant in Epstein's human trafficking ring.
She said:
“I now recognize I may have made a mistake in identifying Mr. Dershowitz. However, I was very young at the time, it was a very stressful and traumatic environment."
She continued:
“This litigation has been very stressful and burdensome for me and my family, and we believe it is time to bring it to an end and move on with our lives."
Dershowitz also dropped allegations he had made against Giuffre's attorney, David Boies, whom he had accused of extortion. Dershowitz said:
“I also now believe that my allegations that David Boies engaged in an extortion plot and in suborning perjury were mistaken."
Boies also commented on the situation, saying that it is about time all parties move on from the turbulent Epstein case.
He said:
“I agree with Mr. Dershowitz and Ms. Giuffre that the time has come to end this litigation and move on.”
He continued:
“I know that Alan Dershowitz has suffered greatly from the allegation of sexual abuse made against him – an allegation that he has consistently, and vehemently, denied. I also know that this litigation has imposed, and continues to impose, a significant burden on Ms. Giuffre.”
According to USA Today, Giuffre now resides in Australia with three children. She has reportedly made millions of dollars in lawsuits connected to Jeffrey Epstein's human trafficking ring.