Judge orders release of Maxwell’s ‘sex ring’ files
Documents may shed light on her links with the paedophile financier Epstein
DETAILS of Jeffrey Epstein’s relationship with Ghislaine Maxwell will be made public in days.
A New York judge last night ordered the unsealing of a vast tranche of documents relating to the paedophile financier.
The papers will include depositions from Maxwell, 58, that could explain her alleged role in Epstein’s sex trafficking operation. They are expected to shed light on powerful men accused of having sex with his victims.
Loretta Preska, presiding at Manhattan’s federal court, said 80 documents, which will run to hundreds of pages, should be made public within a week. They will include communications between Maxwell and Epstein from January 2015 when Virginia Roberts made explosive allegations about them in court papers.
Miss Roberts claimed she was forced to have sex with Prince
Andrew three times when she was 17 at Epstein’s command. The Duke of York has strenuously denied these charges.
The case is separate from the criminal proceedings against Maxwell, who is accused of procuring girls as young as 14 for Epstein to abuse. The British socialite, who is the daughter of disgraced newspaper tycoon Robert Maxwell, has pleaded not guilty and is due to stand trial next year.
The case ruled on last night was originally brought by Miss Roberts, now a 36-year-old mother of three who lives in Australia and goes by her married name Virginia Giuffre.
She sued Maxwell in 2015, claiming she defamed her by calling her a liar for saying she recruited her into a sex trafficking ring for ‘politically connected and financially powerful people’.
The case was settled in 2017 for an undisclosed sum but media organisations sued for documents in the
‘Questions about her sex life’
case to be made open. Judge Preska said Maxwell’s right to privacy was outweighed by the need for the documents to become public.
The contents could be explosive and may contain fresh evidence against the wealthy elite who socialised with Epstein, who killed himself in prison.
They relate to a seven-hour, 418page deposition from Maxwell that her lawyers said was ‘extremely personal, confidential’.
They have called the deposition a ‘series of (efforts) to compel Miss Maxwell to answer intrusive questions about her sex life’.
Laura Menninger asked for a two-week delay in the unsealing so they could file an appeal against the ruling with a higher court.
Miss Roberts’ lawyer, Sigrid McCawley, said she wanted the documents to be made public ‘as swiftly as possible’.