Court unseals pages of documents relating to Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell
A court in New York has ordered that thousands of pages of documents relating to Jeffrey Epstein and British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell be unsealed, rejecting Ms Maxwell's attempts to ensure the papers remain hidden.
The documents relate to a 2015 defamation suit filed by Virginia Giuffre against Ms Maxwell, 57, the former girlfriend of Epstein, 66, who was said by Epstein's employees to run his household.
The documents state: "It is an Undisputed Fact That Multiple Witnesses Deposed in This Case Have Testified That Defendant (Maxwell) Operated as Convicted Pedophile Jeffrey Epstein’s Procurer of Underage Girls."
They continue: "It is an undisputed fact that Defendant is unable to garner a single witness throughout discovery who can testify that she did not act as the procurer of underage girls and young women for Jeffrey Epstein."
The court papers include an Amazon receipt for books that Epstein ordered, including SlaveCraft: Roadmaps for Erotic Servitude, and A Workbook for Erotic Slaves and Their Owners.
The US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit ruled on Friday that the documents be unsealed, upholding a decision made on July 3.
Mrs Giuffre, also known by her maiden name of Roberts, in 2011 told a British tabloid newspaper that Epstein had held her as a sex slave, lending her out to his rich and famous friends - including famed Harvard law professor Alan Dershowitz.
Mr Dershowitz has petitioned for the documents to be made public, arguing that they will clear his name. “I will fight this to the very end. I want the facts to come out,” he said. Prince Andrew has also strongly denied “any form of sexual contact or relationship with Virginia Roberts” and added: “The allegations made are false and without any foundation.”
All the allegations about Prince Andrew were struck from the record in 2015 after being described as "immaterial and impertinent" by the judge.
Mrs Giuffre said that Ms Maxwell served as his "madam". Ms Maxwell called Ms Guiffre’s claims “fictitious lies and stories to make this a salacious event”.
In September 2015, Mrs Giuffre then sued Ms Maxwell in defamation for accusing her of lying. The case was settled in May 2017, and the documents were sealed.
In July the three-judge panel ruled that unsealing the documents was in the public interest. Ms Maxwell appealed against their ruling, but on Friday she lost her attempts to keep the documents hidden.
Ms Maxwell has always denied any wrongdoing, and has never been charged.
