The judge handling the case in which Prince Andrew of England is accused of sexual abuse of minors, on Monday formally requested the help of the UK and Australian authorities to obtain several affidavits.

According to documents published in the US Judicial Electronic Archives, the clothed Lewis Kaplan asked the UK for help in questioning Shukri Walker, a woman who confirmed she saw the Duke of York in a London nightclub with a young woman on the same dates. The complainant, Virginia Joffrey, claimed that she was abused by Elizabeth II’s son.

He also asked for help from British authorities to question a former aide to the Duke of York, Robert Olney, who appeared in the phone book of Jeffrey Epstein, a friend of Prince Andrew who would have facilitated contact between Geoffrey and a member of the British royal family.

On the other side, The judge asked Australia to help question two people linked to Giuffre: on the one hand, her husband, Robert Giuffre, and on the other, psychologist Judith Lightfoot.

The formal request, which Kaplan is requesting to be executed before April 29, comes about two weeks after defense and prosecution attorneys submitted their requests.

Walker and Olney will be questioned at the request of the prosecution, while Joffrey’s husband and psychologist Lightfoot will be questioned at the request of Prince Andrew’s defense.

Joffrey filed a civil suit in New York court in August 2021 against Prince Andrew, whose defense has repeatedly tried to have the trial unsuccessful.

The case is in the evidence-gathering phase, which will last until mid-July, and the jury trial is expected to begin between September and December of this year.

(With information from EFE)

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