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Epstein committed suicide in a Manhattan jail cell earlier this
month while being held on sex-trafficking charges.
"The Duke of York has been appalled by the recent reports of
Jeffrey Epstein’s alleged crimes," Buckingham Palace said in a
statement.
"His Royal Highness deplores the exploitation of any human being
and the suggestion he would condone, participate in or encourage
any such behavior is abhorrent," the Palace said.
British media including the Daily Mail published a picture which
it said showed Andrew, the second son of Queen Elizabeth, waving
goodbye to a woman from inside a Manhattan mansion owned by
Epstein.
The Mail said the picture had been taken in 2010 - two years
after Epstein pleaded guilty to a Florida state felony
prostitution charge and registered as a sex offender.
U.S. court papers have previously shown that Epstein had
socialized with Andrew and other high-profile figures including
U.S. President Donald Trump and former president Bill Clinton.
Epstein first came under investigation in 2005 after police in
Palm Beach, Florida, received reports he had sexually abused
underage girls in his mansion there.
By 2007, Epstein was facing a potential federal indictment for
sexually abusing dozens of girls between 1999 and 2007. Epstein
struck a deal, however, to plead guilty in 2008 to the Florida
state felony prostitution charge, and register as a sex
offender.
(Reporting by William James; editing by Guy Faulconbridge)
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