Documents naming Jeffrey Epstein's associates ordered unsealed

(NewsNation) — A federal judge has ordered the unsealing of a trove of documents that would make public the names of dozens of Jeffrey Epstein's associates.

The order issued Monday by District Judge Loretta Preska is part of a settled civil lawsuit against Ghislaine Maxwell, who was sentenced last year to 20 years in prison on sex trafficking charges. Prosecutors at her criminal trial alleged she helped Epstein sexually abuse teenage girls for decades.

In ordering the release of some of the names, Preska notes that many of the people have already given media interviews or have already had their names listed in other public court documents pertaining to the case. In other instances, Preska writes that individuals did not object to the unsealing or the currently sealed material "is not salacious."

Other names were ordered to remain redacted because they would identify minors who were victims of sex crimes.

Preska has set a Jan. 1 release date for the more than 150 names associated with the lawsuit. Anyone who is set to be identified has an opportunity to appeal.

The civil lawsuit was filed by Virginia Giuffre and settled in 2017. She claimed that Epstein and Maxwell had also pressured her into sexual trysts with other powerful men, including Prince Andrew. All of those men denied the allegations, and Giuffre ultimately settled a lawsuit against Andrew out of court.

The allegations against Epstein first surfaced publicly in 2005. He pleaded guilty to sex charges in Florida and served 13 months in jail, much of it in a work-release program as part of a deal criticized as lenient. Afterward, he was required to register as a sex offender.

Federal prosecutors in New York revived the case against Epstein after stories by the Miami Herald in 2018 brought new attention to his crimes. He was arrested in 2019 but killed himself a month later.

Eleven months after his death, Maxwell was arrested at a New Hampshire estate.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.