More than 170 Epstein associates to be named after judge unseals court records

The identities of more than 170 of Jeffrey Epstein’s associates are due to be released after a New York judge ordered a trove of secret documents be unsealed.

The scores of names are contained in a long-running, now-settled defamation lawsuit brought by Epstein victim Virginia Giuffre against his former fixer and convicted child trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell.

Judge Loretta Preska issued the order in December unsealing materials connected to the case, which will identify 177 individuals previously only referred to as John Doe or Jane Doe.

The federal judge also ordered that several of Epstein victims named in the documents should be allowed to remain anonymous, as releasing their identities would “disclose sensitive information regarding an alleged minor victim of sexual abuse who has not spoken publicly and who has maintained his or her privacy”.

Individuals named in the documents were given 14 days to appeal.

The order took effect on 1 January 2024, meaning the documents could be unsealed anytime after this.

Ms Giuffre sued Maxwell for defamation in 2015 after the British socialite called her a liar over her claims that she had been sexually abused as a minor.

The case was settled in 2017 and placed under a protective seal, and formed part of a criminal investigation that led to Maxwell being convicted of child sex trafficking in December 2021 and sentenced to 20 years in prison.

Maxwell’s attorneys had fought for the names to remain private, before lifting their objection in early 2022.

Judge Preska has written in previous judgments that she had to weigh the public’s right to access to the information against the “annoyance or embarrassment” to the individuals.

The batch of documents will shed more light on Epstein’s decades-long sex trafficking and abuse network, and is likely to include emails, depositions and other legal documents.

During Maxwell’s trial, longtime Epstein pilot Larry Visoski testified that he recalled flying Donald Trump, Bill Clinton, Prince Andrew, and actor Kevin Spacey on the late paedophile’s private jet, nicknamed the Lolita Express.

Presidential candidate Robert F Kennedy Jr last week admitted flying on Epstein’s jet twice in the 1990s.

Epstein killed himself in custody while awaiting trial for sex trafficking charges in 2019. Since then, his estate has been embroiled in lawsuits with JP Morgan, the US Virgin Islands and dozens of victims.

Ms Giuffre settled a civil sexual assault lawsuit with Andrew in February 2022.