A 950-page court documentation containing the names of some of sex offender Jeffrey Epstein’s acquaintances was made public on Wednesday (3rd January). The documents were part of a case registered by one of Epstein’s victims, Virginia Giuffre, against Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein’s former girlfriend and collaborator.
In December 2021, Maxwell was found guilty of sex trafficking and associated crimes for entrapping and supplying teenage girls for Epstein, a wealthy investor and convicted sex offender.
The court filings included passages from depositions and pleadings from Giuffre’s 2017 settlement with Maxwell. Maxwell was accused of defaming Giuffre by calling her a liar. Giuffre also claimed that when she was 17, Maxwell and Epstein pushed her into having sex with Prince Andrew of Britain. The woman said that Britain’s Prince Andrew put his hand on her breast at Epstein’s Manhattan townhouse in 2001.
Among the names revealed in the court filings were former US President Bill Clinton, pop icon Michael Jackson, Prince Andrew, and illusionist David Copperfield. These names have previously been redacted as J Doe versions in court files.
One of the documents included Maxwell’s testimony, in which she appeared to confirm that Prince Andrew had visited Epstein’s secret island in the US Virgin Islands, where Epstein had allegedly molested many girls. Maxwell confirmed that she was present on the island when Prince Andrew arrived and there were no women other than the staff working at the house.
In another document, Johanna Sjoberg said that Maxwell had recruited her to perform sexual acts on Epstein. In her deposition, Sjoberg stated that Epstein “said one time that Clinton likes them young, referring to girls.”
Sjoberg also claimed to have met Michael Jackson and David Copperfield at Epstein’s Palm Beach residence.
Several women have accused Epstein of forcing them to provide sexual services for him and his visitors at his own Caribbean island and mansions in New York, Florida, and New Mexico.
For years, the names of more than 150 people named in a lawsuit filed by Virginia Giuffre, one of Epstein’s most notable accusers, were held under wraps until a federal court declared last month that there was no legal need to do so.
Giuffre claims to have had sex with a number of politicians and business executives. Giuffre additionally stated in her deposition that she had sex with other important figures who have previously disputed her charges, such as hedge-fund owner Glenn Dubin, billionaire US businessman Tom Pritzker, and the late New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson. She said she also had sex with other political leaders whose names she could not remember.
In a second deposition, Epstein accuser Johanna Sjoberg stated that Prince Andrew placed his hand on her breast to pose for a photo with Epstein, Giuffre, and Epstein’s former girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell. Due to his affiliation with Epstein, Andrew has lost most of his regal titles. In 2022, he resolved a civil dispute with Giuffre for an undisclosed fee, and he has denied any misconduct.
The list is based on a long-resolved defamation complaint Giuffre filed against Maxwell. Ghislaine Maxwell, the daughter of British media billionaire Robert Maxwell, is serving a 20-year prison sentence for assisting Epstein in recruiting and trafficking young girls. Her conviction is being challenged. Giuffre accused Maxwell of recruiting her when she was a minor to be abused by Epstein.
Epstein killed himself in 2019 as he awaited trial for sex crimes.
As per the reports, the records are one of numerous batches of files in Giuffre’s lawsuit that have been unsealed as a result of the Miami Herald’s relentless campaign to make them public.
