Virginia Giuffre, the woman who has accused Jeffrey Epstein of abusing her and who has now brought a civil claim for damages over connected allegations against HRH Prince Andrew, has been sued for defamation in New York by Rina Oh.

Jersey-based artist Oh, 41, has brought proceedings in a Manhattan federal court over a series of Tweets by Giuffre, 38, in which Giuffre alleged that Oh was Epstein’s girlfriend and recruited girls for him to abuse.

Giuffre is the most high-profile of the women who have complained of abuse by now deceased financier Epstein.

She has alleged that she was one of many girls and young women sexually abused by Epstein and his former girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell.

Maxwell herself is the subject of a criminal prosecution in Manhattan for allegedly procuring teenage girls for Epstein, a case which is scheduled to begin on 29 November.

Giuffre also brought a civil claim against Andrew for unspecified damages in August, accusing the Duke of York of sexually abusing her when she was under 18.

The next hearing in those proceedings is to take place on 4 January 2022, when lawyers for Andrew are expected to argue for a dismissal of Giuffre’s lawsuit.

Oh has said that the authorities, including the FBI, agreed that she was a young victim of Epstein’s 20 years ago and not a co-conspirator or part of his inner circle.

However, Giuffre said otherwise in a series of tweets published in October 2020 which suggested that Oh should be in jail along with Maxwell, and which accused her of leaving Giuffre physically scarred by their encounters.

Oh’s claim is for $20 million in damages and says that none of the allegations are true, and that they have caused her “great harm, including humiliation, shame, disgrace, mental anguish, loss of life enjoyment and anxiety and emotion distress,”.

The claim is the latest instalment in the ongoing legal fall-out from Epstein’s decades of misconduct and shows how allegations of such serious wrongdoing can extend far beyond their original subject.