What exact accusations did Virginia Giuffre make against Alan Dershowitz in her original 2014 complaint and subsequent declarations?
Executive summary
Virginia Giuffre first publicly accused Alan Dershowitz in a 2014 court filing that was part of a challenge to Jeffrey Epstein’s non‑prosecution agreement, alleging Epstein trafficked her to Dershowitz and that they had sex when she was a teenager; she later pursued defamation claims and, in 2022, agreed to dismiss them saying she “may have made a mistake” [1] [2]. Court filings and later unsealed depositions expanded on the allegation — Giuffre at times said she had sex with Dershowitz multiple times while being trafficked by Epstein — while Dershowitz has consistently denied the claims and brought counterclaims alleging fabrication and extortion [3] [4] [5].
1. The origin: 2014 filing in the challenge to Epstein’s non‑prosecution deal
Giuffre’s earliest public reference tying Dershowitz to Epstein appears in a December 2014 court filing that challenged the controversial 2007 non‑prosecution agreement for Epstein; in that filing she alleged that Epstein had trafficked her to certain men and implicated Dershowitz among them, claiming sexual contact when she was a minor [1] [3]. That 2014 material is widely cited as the origin of the specific allegation that Dershowitz was one of the men Epstein compelled her to have sex with while she was underage [6] [3].
2. What Giuffre’s lawsuits and declarations actually alleged
In subsequent civil litigation Giuffre alleged that Epstein “sex trafficked” her to Dershowitz and that she had sex with him — court summaries and reporting cite claims she was trafficked to Dershowitz “between 2000 and 2002” and that the encounters occurred when she was a teenager [2] [7]. Public summaries and later court documents state Giuffre claimed multiple encounters; an unsealed 2016 deposition later reported in the press described her saying she had sex with Dershowitz “at least six times” while being trafficked by Epstein [4] [3].
3. Defamation suits and counterclaims — how the allegations evolved into litigation
Giuffre later filed federal defamation lawsuits against Dershowitz [8], asserting that his public denials and statements accusing her or her lawyers of extortion harmed her; Dershowitz answered by denying the sexual‑assault allegations and counter‑suing, alleging perjury and an extortionate scheme by Giuffre and others [2] [9]. The litigation produced depositions, sealed filings, and multiple briefs in which the parties disputed the facts, credibility, and motives behind the accusations [10] [11].
4. Unsealed deposition excerpts and media summaries: specifics reported
When some documents and a 2016 deposition were later unsealed or reported on, outlets summarized that Giuffre provided accounts of being trafficked by Epstein and identifying several men — including Dershowitz — as having sex with her; reporting emphasized claims of multiple encounters with Dershowitz, while also noting Dershowitz’s categorical denials [4] [3]. Media summaries and excerpts have reported the “at least six times” language from the unsealed deposition, but the underlying sealed court record and exact wording of every declaration remain complex and were litigated over confidentiality and protective orders [4] [10].
5. The 2022 dismissal and her statement that she “may have made a mistake”
In November 2022 Giuffre and Dershowitz agreed to dismiss all pending litigation between them; Giuffre issued a statement saying she “may have made a mistake” in identifying Dershowitz, and the parties filed stipulations to dismiss the claims with prejudice and waive appeals — the settlement contained no payment to Dershowitz, according to joint filings and news reports [2] [12]. Coverage characterizes that dismissal as Giuffre abandoning her longstanding public allegation that Dershowitz was among the men Epstein forced her to have sex with [5] [12].
6. Competing narratives and unanswered details
Dershowitz has consistently denied the allegations and pushed a narrative that documentation (travel, phone records, billing) proves he could not have been where Giuffre said; he has also accused Giuffre and her lawyers of fabrication and extortion [13] [9]. Giuffre’s side has characterized her statements as part of broader litigation over Epstein’s NPA and her history as a trafficked victim; reporting notes both her earlier firm representation (e.g., David Boies added in 2014) and the eventual mutual dismissal [1] [6]. Available sources do not mention every line‑by‑line phrase of her original complaint or every subsequent sworn sentence in context; the precise, full text of each sealed declaration and some deposition pages were contested and partially under seal [10].
7. What to watch in the record and why disagreements persist
The public record shows clear disagreement: Giuffre alleged trafficking to Dershowitz and multiple sexual encounters in filings and depositions, while Dershowitz denies any sexual contact and has mounted factual defenses and counterclaims [3] [9]. Because parts of the litigation involved sealed materials, protective orders, and later dismissals, journalists and readers must rely on the unsealed excerpts and contemporaneous court filings summarized above; those documents provide the factual allegations Giuffre made and the categorical denials and counter‑allegations by Dershowitz [4] [10].