Virginia Giuffre ‘looks forward’ to defending herself in court

The woman who settled a sexual assault lawsuit against the Duke of York is still in hospital after a bus crash but “looks forward” to defending herself in court over allegedly breaching a restraining order.

Virginia Giuffre, who lives in Australia, has been charged with breaching a family violence restraining order in Ocean Reef, near Perth, on February 2, Western Australia (WA) Courts said.

Ms Giuffre’s case was first heard in Joondalup Magistrates’ Court in northern Perth on March 14, where she did not enter a plea, WA Courts said, and the case is due back in court on April 9.

A statement from her family on Wednesday said she “looks forward to defending herself”.

“Virginia continues to be hospitalised in serious condition,” it added.

Ms Giuffre was injured in a collision last month and sparked concern earlier this week when she claimed in an Instagram post that she had “four days to live”, alongside a photo of her in hospital.

According to reports, a spokesperson for Ms Giuffre said the Instagram post was a mistake and she had meant to share the post to her private Facebook page.

A  previous statement said: “Virginia thanks everyone for the outpouring of love and support.

“She is overwhelmed with gratitude.

“Today she remains in (a) serious condition while receiving medical care.

“On March 24, in rural Western Australia, a school bus hit the car in which she was riding.”

It said: “Virginia was banged up and bruised and returned home.

“Virginia’s condition worsened and she was admitted to the hospital.

“Concerning her Instagram post, Virginia thought that she had posted on her private Facebook page.”

Ms Giuffre is reported to have separated from her husband.

In her caption to the Instagram post, Ms Giuffre said she was “ready to go, just not until I see my babies one last time”.

A previous Instagram post by Ms Giuffre on March 22 included the caption: “My beautiful babies have no clue how much I love them and they’re being poisoned with lies.

“I miss them so very much.

“I have been through hell & back in my 41 years but this is incredibly hurting me worse than anything else.

“Hurt me, abuse me but don’t take my babies.”

Western Australia Police said they received one report of a “minor crash” between a school bus and a car in Neergabby, about 12 miles north of Perth, on March 24.

The collision was reported by the bus driver the following day, while there were no reported injuries, a police spokeswoman said.

The duke paid millions to settle a civil sexual assault case with Ms Giuffre who he said he had never met.

She sued him for allegedly sexually assaulting her when she was 17 after she was trafficked by paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein.