JUDGE Loretta Preska of the Southern New York district has ruled to “unseal in full” the documents that contain the identifying information of some 180 people linked to Jeffrey Epstein.
In a 51-page order released on Monday, Judge Preska noted that the previous hearings have established that the names would not remain redacted indefinitely.
The names of about 180 of Epstein’s associates are set to be released in the first days of 2024.
Preska has given the people affected by the order 14 days to appeal the decision.
But after that, the lawyers must “confer, prepare the documents for unsealing pursuant to this order, and post the documents on the docket.
This move is expected to identify some of Epstein’s victims, his close associates, and investigators and journalists who covered the case.
But some of the names will remain unsealed, and this includes minor victims, and at least one person who was wrongly identified as a sexual predator by a reporter.
The documents are related to the 2015 lawsuit by Virginia Giuffre, who accused Epstein and his ex-girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell of sexually trafficking her when she was 17 years old.
The case was settled in 2017, with most of the evidence remaining under seal.
However, a lawsuit filed by activist Mike Cernovich resulted in the declassification of the lawsuit in July 2019, at which point Jeffrey Epstein, was arrested on federal sex trafficking charges.
Many sought to know about the case of Jeffrey Epstein, a convicted pedophile who died in a New York jail.
He was a former financier who had long socialized with the rich and powerful, flew then to his private little Saint James Island in the Caribbean via private jet known as “the lolita express”
Epstein was indicted in 2019 on federal charges of operating a sex trafficking ring. He then committed suicide in jail while awaiting trial. Authorities said that the official cause of his death was suicide by hanging.
Meanwhile, Maxwell, Epstein’s ex-girlfriend and longtime accomplice, was also indicted and convicted in 2022.
Even after Epstein’s death, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in New York indicated that it would focus on the conspiracy charge against Epstein. This move could allow prosecutors to charge individuals involved in the scheme.
