NEW YORK (Reuters) - Prominent U.S. criminal defence lawyer Alan Dershowitz has filed a sworn statement denying he had sex with an underage girl on financier Jeffrey Epstein's private plane and island.
Dershowitz filed the statement in Florida federal court on Monday night, along with a motion to join in a lawsuit brought against the U.S. government by Dershowitz's accuser and other women who say Epstein sexually abused them. The women say the government's 2008 plea deal with Epstein, which allowed him to serve jail time on state charges but avoid federal prosecution, violated their rights.
Dershowitz represented Epstein in negotiating that plea.
The woman, identified in court papers as Jane Doe #3, claimed in a court filing last week that Epstein made her have sex with Dershowitz and others, including Britain's Prince Andrew, on multiple occasions.
Dershowitz said in Monday's filing the allegation against him was a "deliberate lie." He said that while he had flown on Epstein's plane several times, Jane Doe #3 was not on any of those trips. He also said he had been to Epstein's island once, for a day, and was with his wife and daughter the whole time.
Dershowitz has said he plans to file disciplinary complaints against the attorneys representing Jane Doe #3: Paul Cassell, a University of Utah law professor and former federal judge, and Bradley Edwards, a Florida plaintiffs' attorney.
Buckingham Palace officials have identified Jane Doe #3 as Virginia Roberts.
(Reporting by Brendan Pierson; Editing by Meredith Mazzilli and James Dalgleish)