Prince Andrew denies any involvement in Epstein sex scandal

Prince Andrew has rejected any suggestion he participated in the alleged sex crimes that U.S. financier Jeffrey Epstein is accused of, says Buckingham Palace.

Epstein committed suicide in a New York City jail cell earlier this month while being held on sex-trafficking charges.

"The Duke of York has been appalled by the recent reports of Jeffrey Epstein's alleged crimes," Buckingham Palace said in a statement released Monday.

"His Royal Highness deplores the exploitation of any human being and the suggestion he would condone, participate in or encourage any such behaviour is abhorrent."

British media including London's Daily Mail published a picture that it said showed Andrew, the second son of Queen Elizabeth, waving goodbye to a woman from inside a Manhattan mansion owned by Epstein.

The newspaper said the picture had been taken in 2010, two years after Epstein pleaded guilty to a Florida state felony prostitution charge and registered as a sex offender.

U.S. court papers previously said Epstein had socialized with Andrew and other high-profile figures, including now U.S. President Donald Trump and former president Bill Clinton.

Epstein first came under investigation in 2005 after police in Palm Beach, Fla., received reports he had sexually abused underage girls in his mansion there.

By 2007, Epstein was facing a potential federal indictment for sexually abusing dozens of girls between 1999 and 2007. Epstein struck a deal, however, to plead guilty in 2008 to the Florida state felony prostitution charge, and register as a sex offender.