A key deadline for the unsealing of the names of nearly 200 associates of sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein has passed, but it could still be days before the court records are made public, according to the legal team representing one of his most outspoken accusers.
The unsealing is scheduled to begin today, court officials told Fox News Digital, but a spokesperson for plaintiff Virginia Giuffre’s legal team said documents could be delayed until next week.
A court-ordered Jan. 1 deadline for John and Jane Does to appeal the looming unsealing of their names in a lawsuit against Epstein’s convicted sex-trafficking madam Ghislaine Maxwell expired at midnight Monday.
However, the judge’s order contained no specifics about the timing for the next step: the preparation and unsealing of documents expected to include the names of former associates, friends, employees, accusers and potential accomplices.
U.S. District Judge Loretta Preska issued a 51-page order last month giving anyone whose name was set to be released in connection with the 2015 lawsuit Giuffre, a prominent Epstein accuser, brought against Maxwell two weeks to appeal.
“After which, counsel are asked to confer, prepare the documents for unsealing pursuant to this order, and post the documents on the docket,” the judge ordered.
In a court filing Wednesday, Preska said two Does had reached out seeking to have their names remain sealed. One was Doe 110, identified in the Dec. 18 order as a person whose name and association with Epstein have already been widely publicized.
Preska identified the other as Doe 107, who was not mentioned in the judge’s Dec. 18 order, but her attorney filed a request for a 30-day extension to raise arguments about why her identity should remain under seal.
The judge gave her until Jan. 22 to submit an affidavit, and only documents pertaining to Doe 107 will be held until then, court officials told Fox News Digital.
“With the exception of the documents relating to these Does, the parties have informed the Court that they will begin filing the unsealed records outlined in this Court’s December 18 Order later today,” Preska wrote. “The Court will render its determination on the documents relating to Does 107 and 110 in due course.”
Although many of the Does were not publicly named in the Giuffre v. Maxwell lawsuit, Preska ruled that their identities should be revealed because they have “widely publicized” ties to Epstein, and some have been named as co-defendants in lawsuits against the disgraced financier.
