A federal judge in New York has ordered the declassification of court documents, due in early 2024. Those documents will reveal the identities of numerous associates connected to the notorious financier Jeffrey Epstein. The court documents are part of a closed civil case that accuses Epstein's former confidante, Ghislaine Maxwell, of allegedly aiding and abetting the sexual assault of Virginia Giuffre. The specific terms of the agreement reached in 2017 remain undisclosed, TVP World reported.
Ghislaine Maxwell is currently serving a 20-year sentence after being convicted of human trafficking and procuring underage girls for Epstein, who tragically "killed himself" in a Manhattan jail in 2019 while awaiting trial on federal sex-trafficking charges.
The declassified documents, scheduled for release on January 1, are expected to shed light on the names of more than 150 people, including Epstein's victims, potential accomplices, and people connected to the case.
Judge Loretta Preska, who is presiding over the case, gave those who might object to the public release of their documents an opportunity to voice their concerns. However, in her decision, she emphasized that individuals who have already given interviews to the media cannot keep their names secret.
This decision highlighted the potential exposure of a range of individuals—from victims to alleged accomplices and innocent associates—in connection with Epstein's illegal activities.
While the released documents may not contain specific details about why a particular individual is connected to Giuffre's case, the revelations are expected to shed more light on Epstein's extensive human trafficking network for sexual exploitation, operating in places like New York, New Mexico, the US Virgin Islands and beyond. The disclosed information may include names mentioned in depositions, emails, or legal documents.
Some individuals were already publicly associated with Epstein, including Harvard law professor Alan Dershowitz, who is specifically named in the judge's order. Notably, the identities of some minor victims will remain redacted to preserve their anonymity.
Maxwell and Epstein collaborated from 1994 to 2004 to locate, tag, and transport girls to various Epstein properties where they were allegedly sexually abused. In her lawsuit against Maxwell, Giuffre alleges that at the age of 16, she was recruited into the financier's long-term sexual slavery.
The suit, settled in May 2017, just ahead of trial, accused Maxwell and Epstein of forcing her to have sexual relations with various prominent associates, including Britain's Prince Andrew.
Prince Andrew, who has consistently denied the allegations and disputed Giuffre's credibility, reached a settlement with her last year for an undisclosed sum. The letter, filed by Giuffre's lawyer, noted that Prince Andrew acknowledged that Epstein trafficked with young girls and regretted his relationship with him while praising the courage of the victims who spoke out. /BGNES
