Names of Jeffrey Epstein associates to be made public next year, judge rules

Dec. 19 (UPI) -- A New York-based federal judge ordered the unsealing of court documents in early 2024 that will make public the names of scores of Jeffrey Epstein's associates.

The documents are connected to a civil lawsuit that alleged that Epstein's one-time girlfriend and longtime associate Ghislaine Maxwell orchestrated the sexual abuse of Virginia Giuffre. The lawsuit has since been settled.

Epstein committed suicide in a Manhattan federal jail in 2019 while awaiting trial on trafficking charges. Maxwell is serving a 20-year prison sentence after she was convicted in 2021 for sex trafficking and procuring underage girls for Epstein.

More than 170 names, from employees, victims and associates, had been cloaked, but U.S. District Judge Loretta Preska ordered Monday that the documents can be unsealed. Previously, blocked names had appeared as Jane Doe or John Doe.

Preska gave individuals 14 days to appeal her ruling. The unsealed documents could reveal more about Epstein's alleged sex trafficking of women and girls in New York, New Mexico, the U.S. Virgin Islands and elsewhere.

From 1994 to 2004, authorities said Maxwell and Epstein identified girls, groomed them and then enticed them to travel to Epstein's many properties.