Names of multiple “John Does” who have kept their identities under wraps in the aftermath of the court battle between an accuser of Jeffery Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell were ordered unsealed by a judge Friday.
Judge Loretta Preska determined that the public interest superseded the privacy concerns of eight anonymous people mentioned in various court documents on the litigation between Virginia Giuffre and Maxwell, Business Insider reported.
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One name, “John Doe 183,” mentioned multiple times in Maxwell’s sex-trafficking trial, will stay hidden for now, according to Insider. Preska explained in a court hearing that she believed “John Doe 183’s” name should be divulged, but she delayed that until Nov. 28 to enable him to appeal.
“That Doe’s relationship with Jeffrey Epstein has been a subject of intent media coverage, and Doe 183’s name has appeared in numerous places in unsealed portions of Ms. Maxwell’s criminal trial transcript. In the court’s view, there’s no reason to redact Doe 183 from the documents,” Preska said, per the report.
The names were mentioned in the defamation case between Giuffre and Maxwell that ended in a settlement. Lawyer Alan Dershowitz had also pursued the unsealing of the lawsuit material, contending it would help disprove her allegations against him, per Insider.
Giuffre, who claims to have been trafficked by Epstein, a convicted sex offender, initially alleged that Dershowitz abused her, something he vehemently denied. Recently, she conceded that she may have “made a mistake” in identifying him as the abuser.
Maxwell dropped her bid to keep the names hidden following her sex trafficking conviction last year, per the report. Two of the people mentioned in the unsealing order accused Epstein of wrongdoing, but Preska reportedly believed the public had a sufficient interest in learning their names.
This includes Sarah Ransome, who detailed her encounter with Epstein in a book. Another person would remain sealed because of “ongoing trauma,” Insider reported.
Emmy Tayler, an actress and former assistant to Maxwell who filed a lawsuit claiming a reporter mischaracterized her experience with Epstein and Maxwell, was also part of the court-ordered unsealing.
Many of the others, such as hotel guru Thomas Pritzker, a cousin of Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D-IL), had minimal ties to Epstein and Maxwell, the judge said.
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The ruling largely ends a dust-up over the 16 anonymous names that Maxwell dropped objections to, with “John Doe 183” outstanding. Preska had already ruled on whether the other half of the batch should remain anonymous. Numerous documents have been released to the public regarding the defamation suit since the settlement was reached.
Separate from the defamation suit, Maxwell has been sentenced to 20 years’ imprisonment for her work with Epstein.
