Judge Releases Sealed Records in Ghislaine Maxwell Lawsuit

Update July 31, 2020: According to NPR, a judge ordered documents related to a defamation suit against Ghislaine Maxwell to be released to the public. The files, which span 47 documents, include a deposition by Virginia Roberts Giuffre, who accused Jeffrey Epstein. Maxwell's deposition from 2016 remains sealed. U.S. District Judge Loretta Preska granted a stay on those papers in order to give her defense team adequate time if they wanted to go through appellate court.

In Giuffre's May 2016 deposition, she said Maxwell and Epstein ordered her to engage in sex with men, telling her to give them a "massage."

"And when they say massage, they mean erotic, OK?" Giuffre said, adding, "That's their code word."

An attorney questioning Maxwell listed prominent men that she was instructed to have sex with, including Prince Andrew.

"Other than Glenn Dubin, Stephen Kaufmann, Prince Andrew, Jean-Luc Brunel, Bill Richardson, another prince, the large hotel chain owner and Marvin Minsky, is there anyone else that Ghislaine Maxwell directed you to go have sex with?"

"I am definitely sure there is," Giuffre said. "But can I remember everybody's name? No."

Maxwell also named Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell and attorney Alan Dershowitz, though both have denied ever meeting her. Judge Preska ordered the documents to be unsealed last week.

Previously: Ghislaine Maxwell, an associate of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, has been arrested by the FBI.

The New York Times reports Maxwell was arrested in June on criminal charges linked to his reported sex-trafficking operation. She was accused of helping Epstein "recruit, groom and ultimately abuse" multiple girls, including one as young as 14. She also faces perjury charges.

On July 14, Maxwell reportedly pled not guilty to all charges but is being held without bond because she posed "a substantial risk of flight." According to reports, the judge set her trial for next year.

Who is Ghislaine Maxwell?

Maxwell is Epstein's onetime girlfriend and alleged longtime accomplice in trafficking and abusing dozens of young girls in a sex ring over many years. The 58-year-old British socialite has been connected to Epstein for more than two decades, but has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing. CNN reported she was arrested on Thursday "without incident."

What has she been accused of?

Per CNN, Maxwell has been named in multiple lawsuits by women who said they have been abused by Epstein. In Thursday's indictment, Maxwell was named as the principal recruiter for victims of Epstein's sex trafficking ring, accused by prosecutors of luring the young girls into their circle, inquiring about their schools and families, taking them to the movies or shopping.

According to the indictment, Maxwell allegedly steered the relationships into sexual territory, talking to them about sexual topics or undressing in front of them, and encouraged them to give Epstein massages, during which the girls were fully or partially nude.

In a Times report from last year, one alleged Epstein survivor said Maxwell threatened her life after she notified police departments and the FBI about Epstein’s alleged behavior.

"Better be careful and watch your back," she recalled Maxwell telling her. "I know you go to the West Side Highway all the time. While you’re out there, just be really careful, because there are a lot of ways to die there."

What else do we know about her?

After Epstein died by apparent suicide in his jail cell last year, Maxwell came into increased scrutiny. Until recently, her whereabouts were unknown. The Times reported that Maxwell kept a "low profile" after Epstein’s death in 2019, and had not been photographed in years until she was reportedly seen in August 2019 at a Los Angeles In-N-Out Burger.

RELATED: Prince Andrew Was Directly Called Out by a Jeffrey Epstein Survivor

She reportedly met with Prince Andrew — who was also connected to Epstein — two weeks after U.S. prosecutors announced their intention to reopen investigations around Epstein last year.

This post will be updated.

If you have experienced sexual violence and are in need of crisis support, please call the RAINN Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).