Virginia Giuffre has dropped her lawsuit against a Harvard law professor who she says was among the men Jeffrey Epstein trafficked her to for sex.
The 39-year-old activist, who accused Prince Andrew of sexual assaultsaid she “may have made a mistake” saying Epstein doctored it to former professor Alan Dershowitz two decades ago.
She added that she was young at the time and found herself in a “very stressful and traumatic environment”.
Ms. Giuffre sued Mr. Dershowitz in 2019 and accused him of defaming her by dismissing her claim, prompting him to counter-sue her for defamation.
Both parties have now agreed to drop their respective claims and waive any appeal in a joint filing in federal court in Manhattan.
Mr Dershowitz, 84, said in a statement: ‘Ms Giuffre is to be commended for her courage in now publicly declaring that she may have been wrong about me.’
The US attorney previously represented Epstein in a 2008 non-prosecution agreement with federal prosecutors in Florida.
That year, Epstein, a now disgraced billionaire financier with ties to the rich and famous, pleaded guilty to a lesser prostitution offense and served 13 months in county jail on daytime leave, as well as register as a sex offender.
Epstein’s 2008 deal sparked renewed scrutiny following a Miami Herald investigation in 2019.
Manhattan federal prosecutors filed sex trafficking charges against Epstein in July 2019. The following month, he was found dead by suicide in his Manhattan jail cell at the age of 66.
Ms Giuffre alleged she was trafficked by Epstein to have sex with Andrew when she was 17.
The Duke has repeatedly denied the allegations and has not been charged with any criminal offence.
Mr Dershowitz is also known for helping defend American football star OJ Simpson against murder charges and former US President Donald Trump during his impeachment trial in 2020.