New York, Dec 19 (EFE).- A federal judge in New York on Tuesday ordered the release on Jan. 1 of hundreds of long-sealed documents containing the names of people linked in various ways to the late financier Jeffrey Epstein, who was accused of sex trafficking of minors.
Epstein’s victims, co-conspirators and innocent associates who did not successfully fight to keep their names out of the civil case could see them released.
Judge Loretta Preska set the release date on Jan. 1, 2024, which gives those opposed to the release of their records time to appeal it.
However, the ruling said that some of those named should not be kept private because they’ve given interviews to the media. Some names may have simply appeared in depositions, emails or legal documents.
The documents are being released as part of a settlement – the terms of which are unknown – in a civil lawsuit filed in 2015 by Virginia Giuffre, who claims she was a victim of sexual abuse by Epstein with the help of his ex-lover, British national Ghislaine Maxwell.
More than 150 people are expected to be identified in hundreds of files, however it may not be clear why a particular person was linked to Giuffre’s lawsuit.
The files could reveal more about Epstein’s sex trafficking of women and girls in New York, New Mexico, the US Virgin Islands and elsewhere.
Some names will remain sealed because they are either not connected to Epstein or Maxwell, or they are an alleged victim of sexual abuse who has not spoken publicly to maintain their privacy, according to the judge’s order.
Giuffre filed a libel suit against Maxwell calling her a “liar” for alleging that the businessman, with the help of the British socialite, sex-trafficked her when she was a teen, but the case was closed in 2017 after an undisclosed settlement.
Maxwell and Epstein identified and groomed girls before luring them on trips and taking them to Epstein’s properties in New York, Florida, New Mexico and other locations between 1994 and 2004, according to prosecutors.
In suing Maxwell, Giuffre alleged that Maxwell recruited her when she turned 16 into years of sexual servitude to Epstein. She also alleged that between 2000 and 2002, they had her have sex with several high-profile associates, including Britain’s Prince Andrew.
Epstein hanged himself in 2019 in a federal prison in New York, where he was awaiting trial for allegedly creating a sex trafficking ring of minors, while Maxwell is serving 20 years in prison for providing minors for sexual purposes to his ex-lover and ex-partner. EFE
rh/mcd/ics
