Judge says lawsuit against Harvard law professor can proceed

NEW YORK — A judge says a lawsuit can proceed to trial that accuses Harvard law professor Alan Dershowitz of lying about his sexual history with a woman who claims she was a teenage victim of Jeffrey Epstein’s sex trafficking ring.

But U.S. District Judge Loretta Preska also on Wednesday granted Dershowitz’s request to disqualify the law firm representing the woman from the case.

Dershowitz had sought to toss out the case on several grounds, including that the statute of limitations had passed.

Virginia Roberts Giuffre filed her defamation lawsuit against Dershowitz after he made comments publicly saying he had never even met Giuffre.

Giuffre’s allegations drew new attention after Epstein was charged in New York with sexually abusing dozens of girls. He later killed himself.

The Associated Press