Prince Andrew has been accused of “blaming the victim” and “misleading” after his lawyers requested Virginia Giuffre’s mental health records, including confidential notes from her counseling sessions.
The Duke of York’s legal team wants to question Ms Giuffre’s psychologist, Dr Judith Lightfoot, about her “alleged emotional and psychological harm and damage”.
His attorneys have requested permission to inspect prescriptions written by Dr. Lightfoot for Ms. Giuffre, who has accused Andrew of sexual assault – as well as expert notes from their sessions together.
They also want to question the psychologist about the “false memory theory” and asking him questions about Ms. Giuffre’s “alleged childhood trauma and abuse.”
A source close to Prince Andrew told Sky News that the duke’s legal team has “perfect rights to prove his claims”.
‘It’s the lowest of the low’
Dr. Charlotte Proudman, a lawyer and Cambridge academic specializing in violence against women, said it seemed Andrew he was trying to use Mrs. Giuffre’s medical records to discredit her.
“It’s nothing more than blaming the victim and cheating,” he told Sky News.
“Looking through her personal and intimate records when she would have told that person that information in the strictest confidence.
“For that to be used and manipulated and twisted against you is likely to be damaging and extremely damaging, and likely to be traumatizing.
“It’s another form of abuse, but this time through the judicial process.”
Dr. Proudfoot said that she hoped that Ms. Giuffre would object to the request for details of her counseling sessions.
“It’s a really low tactic,” he added. “It’s the lowest of the low.”
The source close to the Duke of York said: “Ms Giuffre endangered her mental health by suing for damages for emotional distress.
“The Duke’s legal team has a perfect right to prove his claims, determine his damages, if any, and see what he did or did not say to his therapist.”
Andrew’s Sexual Assault Civil Case: What Happens Next and What Are Your Options?
Andrew has denied the allegations against him.
Andrew’s lawyers criticized ‘sweat claim’ test request
Earlier, Ms Giuffre’s legal team had asked the Duke to prove he had a medical condition that meant he didn’t sweat.
The royal made the claim in her 2019 Newsnight interview after Ms Giuffre alleged that she had been sweating profusely while dancing at a nightclub.
Andrew’s lawyers reportedly said the request for proof of his inability to sweat was “harassing” and seeking private and confidential information, before adding: “There are no such documents in his possession.”
Ms Giuffre, formerly known as Virginia Roberts, is suing Andrew in the US for allegedly sexually assaulting her as a teenager.
Mrs. Giuffre is suing Andrew
She claims she was trafficked by Andrew’s friend Jeffrey Epstein, the convicted pedophile, to have sex with the Duke when she was 17.
Andrew – who was stripped of his military titles this week – has vehemently denied the accusations against him.
The ‘false memory’ defense is a ‘reference tactic’
After a judge rejected the royal attempt In order to have the lawsuit dismissed, Andrew claimed in court papers that Ms Giuffre, now 38, “may be suffering from false memories.”
Ghislaine Maxwell used a “false memory” defense at her trial after her lawyers claimed that the passage of time, coupled with intense media scrutiny of her case, had corrupted the memory of accusers and witnesses.
Dr. Proudman said it was “the tactic of the suspected and found perpetrators to claim that the victims misremembered things.”
Maxwell was convicted of recruiting underage girls for her ex-boyfriend, Epstein, to sexually abuse, and will be sentenced in June.
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Ahead of a civil trial planned for later this year, Giuffre’s lawyers sought testimony from Andrew’s former assistant, Robert Olney, and a woman named Shukri Walker, who claims she saw the royals “with a girl” at the club. London Tramp Night.
Ms. Walker allegedly saw the royal “with a girl at the time that (Ms. Giuffre) contends that Prince Andrew molested her in London after visiting the Tramp Nightclub,” court documents say.
