Thaindian News

London, Mar 4 (ANI): Prince Andrew has landed in further trouble over his friendship with a child sex offender after a witness described how the two were in contact every week.

The Duke of York made regular phone calls to the Florida mansion of billionaire Jeffrey Epstein, who recently served an 18-month prison sentence after admitting soliciting an under-age girl for prostitution, reports the Telegraph.

Alfredo Rodriguez, who worked as a housekeeper for Epstein, disclosed details of the calls from the Duke in a witness statement he gave to lawyers representing 11 girls who sued Epstein after claiming he molested them.

The Duke has already faced calls in parliament this week to step down or be removed from his role as the UK’s special representative for trade and industry following criticism of his relationships with several business contacts.

The fresh disclosures about the extent of his friendship with Epstein, 58, are likely to increase the pressure on the Duke, who was recently photographed in conversation with the sex offender in New York’s Central Park following his release from prison.

In a witness statement seen by The Daily Telegraph, Rodriguez, who worked for Epstein between August 2004 and March 2005, described himself as the billionaire’s ‘household manager’ and said his duties included answering the phone and writing down messages from callers.

He said he first realised Epstein and the Duke were friends ‘because there were pictures of them together…many pictures’.

He said the Duke would call the house, and asked how often the calls came, he replied: “I will say once a week we used to get a call from him.”

However, there was no suggestion the Duke had a sexual relationship with any of the girls who were brought to Epstein’s house to give him massages, or that he was aware that his host was sexually exploiting underage girls.

But the fact that he was in such regular contact with Epstein as recently as 2005 suggests the two men were close friends for at least five years before Epstein was exposed as a child sex offender. (ANI)