A federal judge has ordered the public disclosure of the identities of more than 150 people mentioned in a mountain of court documents related to accused sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein, saying that most of the names were already public and many had not objected to the release.
The people whose names are to be disclosed, including sex abuse victims, litigation witnesses, Epstein’s employees — and even some people with only a passing connection to the scandal — have until Jan. 1 to appeal the order, which was signed on Monday by Judge Loretta Preska.
For several years, Preska has reviewed documents sought by the Miami Herald from a civil case, filed by one of Epstein’s victims, that eventually was settled.
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Many of the records related to that lawsuit were publicly released in past years, but on Monday the judge made determinations about some portions of the records that were initially withheld on potential privacy grounds and what can be made public about certain people mentioned in the records.
In many instances, she said that individuals had given media interviews or that their names had previously emerged publicly, including at a trial two years ago of Ghislaine Maxwell, a former girlfriend of Epstein, who died in police custody in 2019.
Preska said that some portions of the records should remain confidential, including those identifying people who were children when they were sexually abused by Epstein and had tried to maintain their privacy.
Three cases have focused on allegations of sexual abuse by Epstein and Maxwell.
Epstein was accused of luring girls to his homes under the guise of giving him massages and then sexually abusing them.
Maxwell, 61, is serving a 20-year prison sentence after she was convicted in December 2021 of helping Epstein recruit and sexually abuse girls.
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