Convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein breaks his silence over Prince Andrew 'sex slave' scandal

     

Paedophile Jeffrey Epstein has hit out at 'outlandish attacks' by the 'gossip media' in his first statement since former friend Prince Andrew was accused of having sex with a 17-year-old girl.

The billionaire spoke out as he tried to prevent the release of a key plea bargain letter from the 2008 underage prostitution case which saw him jailed for 18 months.

Epstein's lawyers condemned what they called a 'media frenzy' and said their client - who Virginia Roberts said in court papers compelled her to have sex with the Prince - deserved 'protection'.

The filing, first obtained by Radar Online, centres on a 23-page letter from July 2007 in which Epstein's lawyers were negotiating a plea bargain with the U.S. government.

He later pleaded guilty to soliciting an underage prostitute.

The lawyers say plea bargain letters have historically been confidential and releasing it would set a dangerous precedent.

They wrote: 'There are valid heightened concerns that voluminous settlement negotiations will be dumped in the court record simply to make them available to the gossip media.

'This is a widely watched and reported case. Mr Epstein and a host of other individuals have been the subject of the most outlandish and offensive attacks, allegations, and plain inventions.

'The media frenzy has not been fed by Mr Epstein or the government.'

They added lawyers should not have to censor themselves 'to avoid making statements that could later come back to haunt their clients in TMZ, the National Enquirer or the grocery store tabloids.'

   

The claims are the latest development in a lawsuit challenging Epstein's plea bargain by two of his alleged victims, codenamed Jane Doe 1 and Jane Doe 2.

They said the arrangement was conducted unfairly because they were not consulted over the secret deal until after it had happened. 

The case then hit headlines when Virginia Roberts - codenamed Jane Doe 3 - claimed she had sex with Andrew in formal documents lodged as she tried to join the lawsuit against U.S. prosecutors.

She said she met the prince in 2001 on a trip to London at the home of Epstein's friend Ghislaine Maxwell, the daughter of disgraced tycoon Robert Maxwell. 

A widely-circulated picture of the beaming prince with his arm around Ms Roberts' waist was said to have been taken during the same encounter.

In court filings Ms Roberts said she took part in 'erotic massage' and said she had sex with Prince Andrew on three separate occasions when she was under 18, a minor in U.S. law.

Prince Andrew, Ghislaine Maxwell and Jeffrey Epstein have vigorously denied the accusations. 

A Buckingham Palace statement said: 'It is emphatically denied that the Duke of York had any form of sexual contact or relationship [with the woman].

'The allegations made are false and without any foundation.'

The prince returned to work at the World Economic Forum in Davos as lawyers for Ms Roberts compelled him to repeat his denial under oath.

    

The prince's ex-wife Sarah Ferguson has also stood by him, saying: 'I know what it feels like to have salacious lies made up about you.

'It's defamation of character and, as a great father and humongously good man and all the work he does for Britain, I won't stand by and let him have his character defamed to this level.

'I'll have not one word said about him on any level.'