What specific sexual misconduct allegations have been made against Alan Dershowitz and who accused him?
Executive summary
Alan Dershowitz has been accused primarily by Virginia Roberts Giuffre (also called Virginia Giuffre/Roberts) of having sex with her multiple times while she was being trafficked by Jeffrey Epstein; Giuffre said the encounters occurred in several locations and at least six times in her 2016 deposition [1] [2]. Giuffre later settled and publicly said she “may have made a mistake” in identifying Dershowitz, and Dershowitz has consistently denied the allegations and sued or counter-sued his accusers and their lawyers [3] [4] [1].
1. The central allegation: Giuffre’s claims of repeated sex while trafficked
Virginia Giuffre — identified in many records as Epstein survivor Virginia Roberts — alleged in court filings and in a 2016 deposition that Epstein trafficked her and that she was forced to have sex with several powerful men, naming Alan Dershowitz as one of them; in that deposition she claimed sex with Dershowitz “at least 6 times” across locations including Florida, New York, New Mexico and the U.S. Virgin Islands [1] [2]. Business Insider and other outlets report the unsealed deposition where Giuffre spells out repeated encounters and ties her claims to the wider trafficking allegations against Epstein [1].
2. Legal pushback, denials and counter-litigation from Dershowitz
Dershowitz has repeatedly and vehemently denied ever having sex with Giuffre or any underage person. He has sought to discredit the allegations through filings, public statements and lawsuits — at times threatening to seek disbarment of lawyers who filed claims he called false — and has insisted he can prove accusers lied, citing records and recordings he says undermine Giuffre’s account [5] [6] [1]. Coverage shows Dershowitz pursued both civil defenses and countersuits and framed himself as a victim of false accusation [7] [6].
3. The 2022 settlement and Giuffre’s subsequent statement
In November 2022 Giuffre and Dershowitz reached a settlement that included Giuffre issuing a statement saying she “may have made a mistake” in identifying him; she withdrew the claims and the litigation ended, with lawyers for both sides issuing conciliatory public comments acknowledging the burden of litigation [3] [4] [2]. Reporting from outlets including Rolling Stone and The Harvard Crimson reproduced central elements of the settlement language and statements that dampened pursuit of that particular allegation [3] [8].
4. Corroboration, documents and continued disputes over records
Advocates for fuller public review have pointed to flight logs, depositions and police reports as materials relevant to assessing who was present with Epstein and when; Dershowitz has argued for unsealing documents that he says would vindicate him, while others point to travel and court records used in filings to support Giuffre’s broader trafficking claims [1] [9]. Congressional or released email material has also added context about Epstein’s relationships with associates and counsel, including private remarks from Epstein about Dershowitz [8].
5. Other accusers mentioned in reporting and competing claims
Some outlets and summaries note that Dershowitz has been accused by more than one of Epstein’s alleged victims in earlier reporting; the Times of Israel and other pieces reference Sarah Ransome and others as among those who have at times alleged abuse tied to Epstein’s circle, though the public legal focal point against Dershowitz in recent years has been Giuffre’s claims and the later settlement [10] [11]. Available sources do not provide a settled public finding of criminal guilt against Dershowitz; instead they describe allegations, depositions, civil litigation and later settlement and retraction language [1] [2].
6. How the parties and commentators frame motives and credibility
Dershowitz and his allies characterize the accusations as extortion or mistaken identity and point to documentary defenses; Giuffre’s attorneys and other plaintiffs in Epstein-related suits initially presented deposition testimony, police reports, and other records to support credibility [1] [5]. Independent commentaries and plaintiffs’ lawyers vary: some stress the pattern of trafficking described by Giuffre, while Dershowitz’s defenders highlight his long-standing denials and legal victories in civil settings [1] [6].
7. What reporting does not settle and the limits of the record
Available sources do not present a criminal conviction of Dershowitz related to these allegations and do not show a final judicial finding that he committed the acts alleged; instead, the public record described in the cited reporting consists of depositions, civil suits, settlement language, public denials and disputes over documentary evidence [2] [1]. Where sources contradict one another—Giuffre’s earlier allegation versus her later statement that she “may have been mistaken”—both positions are documented in reporting [1] [4].
Bottom line: the principal public allegation against Alan Dershowitz came from Virginia Giuffre, who detailed multiple sexual encounters while she said she was trafficked by Jeffrey Epstein; Dershowitz has consistently denied the claims, litigated aggressively, and the parties later settled with Giuffre saying she may have been mistaken, leaving a contested public record rather than a definitive judicial resolution [1] [3] [4].