Mystery woman sprawled on floor under Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor in Jeffrey Epstein’s New York mansion ‘is a sex trafficking victim’

The woman on the floor under Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor at Jeffrey Epstein’s New York mansion was a sex trafficking victim, a senior US politician has claimed.

Three images of the former prince crouching over an unidentified woman in the paedophile financier’s home were among the Epstein files released on January 30.

The undated pictures have no captions but were released in a document of 100 pages of photographs, and also appear to show Andrew touching the woman’s abdomen. Another unidentified person’s feet can be seen up on a table in the background. 

While the context remains unknown, California congressman Ted Lieu asked for the images to be shown at the House Judiciary Committee in Washington DC yesterday.

He made the claim about the woman being a sex trafficking victim while questioning US Attorney General Pam Bondi over why Andrew has never been prosecuted.

His comments came on the same day that British former prime minister Gordon Brown urged police to interview Andrew as part of a new investigation into Epstein. 

During a combative hearing, Mr Lieu said: ‘I’m going to show you two photos of former Prince Andrew. Prince Andrew attended various parties with Jeffrey Epstein.

‘Under the law Congress passed, you were allowed to redact photos to protect the victims of Epstein’s sex trafficking operation. You redacted the photos of this victim’s face because you were following the congressional law, is that correct?’

Ms Bondi replied: ‘I’m sorry, that we redacted the victim’s face?’ Mr Lieu told her: ‘Because you were following the congressional law, correct?’ Ms Bondi said: ‘Yes’.

Mr Lieu then continued: ‘You have now established that we – please put the photos back up – that we are looking at a sex trafficking victim. Under the federal Victims Trafficking Protection Act, not only is Jeffrey Epstein guilty, but anyone who patronises Epstein’s sex operation is also guilty of a crime.

‘That’s why I find it absolutely despicable that you sought to protect Epstein’s clients, like former Prince Andrew. Last July, you closed the case on Epstein’s abusers.

‘The July 2025 memo from your Department of Justice stated: ‘We did not uncover evidence that could predicate an investigation against uncharged third parties’. 

‘These two photos – please put the photos back up – these two photos staring you in the face are evidence of a crime, and more than enough evidence to predicate an investigation against former Prince Andrew.

‘So I ask you, Attorney General Pam Bondi, why did you shut down this investigation last July? And why have you not prosecuted former Prince Andrew?’

But Ms Bondi replied: ‘I don’t believe you asked Merrick Garland these questions when he was Attorney General and sat before you twice, did you? Never mentioned it.’

And Mr Lieu responded: ‘I agree with you. During the during the Biden administration, I called for people looking at Epstein files. Merrick Garland dropped the ball as did Attorney General Bill Barr, as did Alex Acosta, a whole string of failures, but you are in charge. 

‘You have the power to change things to hold these men accountable, and you’re doing the opposite, you’re protecting them.’

While Ms Bondi confirmed the woman’s face had been redacted under laws protecting trafficking victims, she denied that the photographs proved criminality.

It is not known whether Mr Lieu has had special insight on the Epstein investigations, but some US politicians are understood to have viewed unredacted files.

The Department of Justice, which published more than three million documents relating to Epstein in the latest release, has never brought charges against Andrew.

Many women connected to Epstein have previously been described by the US as sex trafficking victims under law – but this characterisation had never been given to the woman in the Andrew photos until yesterday’s hearing.

There is no suggestion of criminal activity from the pictures themselves, and Andrew has always strenuously denied any wrongdoing.

Also yesterday, Mr Brown urged police to interview Andrew as part of a new probe into Epstein and his ‘Lolita Express’ private jet.

The former prime minister encouraged officers to question the disgraced royal while investigating sex trafficking by the paedophile financier through Stansted Airport.

He said women were moved from one Epstein plane to another at the airport in Essex, with the BBC uncovering evidence of incomplete flight logs that showed unnamed passengers were labelled as ‘female’ and names of male passengers also unknown.

Mr Brown wrote in the New Statesman: ‘In short, British authorities had little or no idea who was being trafficked through our country, and for whom other than Epstein.’

He added: ‘I have been told privately that the investigations related to the former Prince Andrew did not properly check vital evidence of flights. I have asked the police to look at this as part of the new inquiry. The Stansted revelations alone require them to interview Andrew.

‘Separately, a line of emails concerns the logistics of registering trafficked girls for English-as-a-foreign-language courses, as a route to obtaining US visas. We need to know if and to what extent this was also happening in the UK.’

It comes as Thames Valley Police said yesterday that it held discussions with specialists from the Crown Prosecution Service about allegations that Andrew shared confidential reports from his role as the UK’s trade envoy with sex offender Epstein.

Earlier yesterday, Director of Public Prosecutions Stephen Parkinson told journalists they were ‘in close contact’ with both the Metropolitan and Thames Valley police, but have not been asked for formal advice yet. 

Emails released by the Department of Justice appear to show the former duke sharing reports of official visits to Hong Kong, Vietnam, and Singapore.

Files released by US authorities also include claims a woman was sent to the UK by Epstein for a sexual encounter with Andrew in 2010.

Separately, the Metropolitan Police has launched an investigation into Peter Mandelson over alleged misconduct in public office.

The inquiry is linked to allegations that Mandelson sent market-sensitive information to the paedophile financier Epstein while he was business secretary during the financial crisis.

On Monday, Buckingham Palace said it would ‘stand ready to support’ the police if approached over the claims. A spokesman added that the King had made clear his ‘profound concern’ at allegations over his brother’s conduct.

The Prince and Princess of Wales publicly addressed the Epstein scandal for the first time on Monday, with Kensington Palace saying they were ‘deeply concerned’ at the ‘continued revelations’ and that their thoughts ‘remain focused on the victims’. 

Andrew is effectively no longer a royal, becoming a commoner after he was stripped by the monarch of his right to be a prince and his dukedom late last year over his association with Epstein.

He remains in the line of succession, being eighth in line to the throne, having gradually moved down after being born second in line.

Much of the work of the Royal Family in recent weeks has been overshadowed by the Epstein scandal, despite the King’s attempts to draw a line under the matter when he banished Andrew and removed his titles.

The fresh trove of documents released by the Department of Justice has sparked a string of allegations against Andrew.

They include claims that a second woman was sent to the UK by Epstein for a sexual encounter with Andrew, and also that the former prince and Epstein asked an exotic dancer for a threesome in the latter’s Florida home.

Andrew has never been questioned by police over claims by Virginia Giuffre. 

Ms Giuffre, who died by suicide last year, alleged that she was forced to have sex three times with Andrew, including when she was 17, and also in London after she was trafficked by Epstein, and at an orgy on Epstein’s private Caribbean island.

The former duke vehemently denied the claims.

The Met previously said it was made aware in 2015 of allegations around non-recent trafficking for sexual exploitation including to central London in 2001.

But it concluded in 2016 that because the investigation would be largely focused on activities and relationships outside the UK, the Met was not the appropriate authority to conduct the inquiries so the matter would not proceed to a full criminal investigation.

The decision was reviewed in August 2019, but in November that year the Met confirmed it would remain unchanged.

In December, the Met decided not to launch a criminal investigation into reports that Andrew asked his taxpayer-funded bodyguard to dig up dirt on Ms Giuffre.

Her family have said they are ‘deeply disappointed’ by the force’s decision to drop the investigation ‘without explanation’.

Meanwhile a poll found earlier this week that support for the monarchy has fallen to 45 per cent amid the ongoing Epstein scandal.

The survey, commissioned by the anti-monarchy campaign group Republic, found that the proportion of the British public in favour of the monarchy had dropped three percentage points, down from 48 per cent, over the last four months.