Virginia Giuffre, a woman who was a victim of pedophile Jeffrey Epstein, agreed to drop the defamation charges she filed against renowned attorney Alan Dershowitz and said she may have made a mistake in claiming she was sexually abused by him. With this action, they put an end to a legal dispute of more than a year.
Giuffre had alleged that Epstein had prostituted her with Dershowitz between 2000 and 2002. The well-known lawyer denied his claim for a long time and accused David Boies -Giuffre's lawyer- of professional misconduct and extortion.
Defamation suits
In 2019, Giuffre sued Dershowitz alleging "defamation" for denying his claims of sexual abuse . Boies, also sued the attorney for defamation. And Dershowitz also filed lawsuits on the same charges against the woman and her attorney.
Attorneys for Giuffre and Dershowitz filed joint stipulations Tuesday, asking the judge overseeing the litigation to dismiss the claims without awarding fees to either party.
In announcing the settlement of the litigation. Giuffre acknowledged that he may have made a mistake in identifying Dershowitz as one of his alleged abusers:
I have long believed that Jeffrey Epstein trafficked Alan Dershowitz to me.... However, I was very young at the time, it was a very stressful and traumatic environment, and Mr. Dershowitz has consistently denied these allegations from the beginning.
Dershowitz said in a recent press release that never had sexual relations with Giuffre: "However, I came to believe that at the time she accused me, she believed what she was saying. She added that she now believed she was wrong to accuse Mr. Boies of engaging in misconduct and extortion."
The renowned attorney also said on CNN,"I am pleased that Virginia Giuffre has withdrawn all of her claims against me and has admitted that she now recognizes that she may have made a mistake in identifying me."
For his part, Boies, founder of the law firm Boies Schiller Flexner LLP, said he believed the time had come to end the litigation:
I know that Alan Dershowitz has suffered greatly from the accusation of sexual abuse made against him, an accusation he has consistently and vehemently denied.
