Prince Andrew gropes accuser Johanna Sjoberg claims she knew Virginia Roberts was underage during 2001 trip to Epstein's New York mansion 'where Royal had sex with her,' court papers allege

A Florida woman recruited by Ghislaine Maxwell to work for Jeffrey Epstein has claimed she knew Virginia Roberts was underage when she was forced to have sex with Prince Andrew in 2001.

Johanna Sjoberg testified in May 2016 that she was a 20-year-old student at Palm Beach Atlantic University when Maxwell, a stranger, approached her and offered her a job as a personal assistant. Sjoberg began working for Epstein in 2001 and was immediately forced to perform sex acts.

Sjoberg said she knew another young woman close to Epstein, Virginia Roberts, was a minor.

Roberts had been recruited by Maxwell the year before, in 2000, while she was working as a locker room attendant at Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach.

Roberts and Sjoberg would encounter a long list of famous faces, including Prince Andrew. He has always denied any allegations of sexual activity with Epstein's accusers, and denied any wrongdoing.

Sjoberg's testimony was revealed Wednesday night — part of a nearly 950-page trove detailing Epstein's relationships, friendships and actions. The documents come from a 2015 defamation lawsuit filed by Roberts — now married as Virginia Giuffre — against Maxwell. The documents were sealed in 2017 and made public on Wednesday.

Sjoberg was recruited by Maxwell at the age of 20 on the campus of Palm Beach Atlantic University, where she attended school

Prince Andrew, Virginia Roberts and Ghislaine Maxwell are pictured at Maxwell's London mansion in 2001

One of the documents – a request from Roberts' legal team for the judge to make more statements – states: 'Johanna confirms that she knew Virginia was a minor when she met her during the trip to New York with Jeffrey in 2001 because Virginia didn't go to the casino and later Johanna asked her and Virginia said she was 17.

“Johanna testified that Virginia looked young.

Johanna continues: 'I had the impression at the time that she had no family or that she had run away from her family. And it seemed to me, you know, that they had kind of adopted her, not as a child, but they were going to take care of her.”

Sjoberg also claimed that while Roberts was 17 and she was 20, they were all together at Epstein's Manhattan mansion with Prince Andrew. Roberts would later say that she and Prince Andrew had sex that evening at Epstein's home.

Sjoberg said the prince groped her breast.

“Johanna confirmed that she witnessed Virginia when she was seventeen (17) at Jeffrey Epstein's mansion in New York with Prince Andrew and Ghislaine Maxwell,” the documents said.

“Johanna also testified that Prince Andrew sat with Virginia and Johanna and took a photo with a doll in his image that had his hand and Prince Andrew's hand on their respective breasts.”

Sjoberg would repeat the story in a 2007 interview with a newspaper.

Jeffrey Epstein is pictured on the New York State sex offender registry in March 2017

Epstein and Maxwell in an undated photo released by the court

Virginia Roberts has been fighting for justice for almost a decade

She said in 2007 that after some “sightseeing” she returned to the apartment and “Prince Andrew was there and a few other girls my age.” Andreas was very charming. . . She (Ghislaine) came with a present for him: a latex doll of his from Spitting Image.'

She added: “We had a photo taken.

“Virginia, another girl there, was sitting on a chair with the doll on her lap. Andrew sat down in another chair.

'I sat on his lap – and he put his hand on my chest. Ghislaine placed the doll's hand on Virginia's chest. Then Andrew put his hand on mine. It was a great joke. Everyone laughed. Ghislaine had a very dirty sense of humor.'

The Duke paid a $12 million settlement to Roberts in 2022 over her claims that he sexually assaulted her when she was 17, which he has always denied. The claims have never been tested in court.

During his infamous 2019 interview, he said he didn't remember ever meeting Roberts.

Prince Andrew and Jeffrey Epstein stroll through Central Park on December 5, 2010

According to Roberts' motion, Sjoberg also testified that the magician David Copperfield dined with Epstein, and Copperfield “asked me if I knew that girls were paid to find other girls.”

DailyMail.com has contacted Copperfield's representative for comment.

Maxwell, the daughter of British media mogul Robert Maxwell, is serving a 20-year prison sentence for recruiting underage girls for Epstein. She is the only person to be tried and convicted for their role in the Epstein sex trafficking ring.

She was convicted in June 2022 and is appealing her conviction.

Epstein mingled with Wall Street titans, royalty and celebrities before pleading guilty in 2008 to soliciting prostitution from a minor. He took his own life in 2019 at the age of 66 while awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges.

Sigrid McCawley, Roberts' attorney, said some questions about who may have set up Epstein remain unanswered.

“The release of these documents brings us closer to that goal,” she said in a statement on Wednesday.