Johanna Sjoberg’s revelations set to add to Prince Andrew’s legal woes

In a significant legal development, Prince Andrew is on the brink of a New Year nightmare as Judge Loretta Preska has ruled to unseal material related to Johanna Sjoberg, a key accuser in the ongoing legal saga involving the Duke of York. The ruling, signed on December 18, paves the way for the release of 40 documents within the next 14 days, with potential implications for Andrew’s already tarnished public image.

Johanna Sjoberg alleges that Prince Andrew groped her breasts at Jeffrey Epstein’s New York mansion in March 2001 when she was 21 years old. The incident reportedly occurred while Andrew was playing with a Spitting Image puppet of himself, a gift from Epstein’s associate, Ghislaine Maxwell. Sjoberg’s testimony has contributed to the broader accusations against Prince Andrew, including those made by Virginia Giuffre (formerly Roberts), who claimed to have had sexual relations with him in 2001 when she was just 17.

The potential release of these documents could shed further light on the encounters between Sjoberg and Prince Andrew, adding to the legal challenges faced by the Duke of York. The revelations may provide additional context to Sjoberg’s claims, which have already portrayed Andrew in an unfavorable manner.

The 40 documents in question are part of a larger collection related to a 2015 US defamation case filed by Virginia Giuffre against Ghislaine Maxwell. While that particular case was settled, media outlets have since sought to make the documents public, leading to a gradual release of files since 2019.

Johanna Sjoberg, currently a 42-year-old hairdresser residing near Palm Beach, Florida, has been identified in previous reports, and the judge’s decision takes into account the 2021 story about her as a reason not to maintain anonymity.

Prince Andrew settled a lawsuit with Virginia Giuffre in February 2022, agreeing to pay a reported £10 million. Despite the settlement, Prince Andrew has consistently denied any wrongdoing and claimed not to remember meeting Giuffre.

Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein’s former lover and convicted sex trafficker, is currently serving a 20-year jail term for charges including sex trafficking a minor. The impending release of additional evidence puts Prince Andrew back in the legal spotlight, further complicating an already complex and controversial legal narrative.