US Judge Loretta Preska ruled in December that documents that were part of a 2015 defamation case by Virginia Giuffre against Ghislaine Maxwell should be made public.
By Niamh Lynch, Sky News reporter @niamhielynch
Hundreds of pages of court documents relating to Ghislaine Maxwell, her relationship with Jeffrey Epstein and alleged victims of sexual abuse have been released.
A US judge, Loretta Preska, ruled in December that documents that were part of a 2015 defamation case by Virginia Giuffre against Ghislaine Maxwell should be made public.
Judge Preska ordered that some individuals should be named because they had already given interviews to the media.
Epstein was found dead in his cell at a federal jail in Manhattan in August 2019 while he awaited trial on sex trafficking charges.
In one document, a woman named Johanna Sjoberg claimed Prince Andrew touched her breast while sitting on a couch inside the US billionaire’s Manhattan apartment in 2001, while giving testimony in May 2016.
Buckingham Palace previously said the allegations are “categorically untrue”.
Andrew has been stripped of most of his royal titles due to his association with Epstein. He settled a civil lawsuit with
Giuffre last year for an undisclosed sum and has denied wrongdoing.
The documents include transcripts of videotaped depositions in which Ms Maxwell is questioned concerning what she knew about Epstein’s relationship with Giuffre, whether she ever saw him engage in sexual activity with underage girls and what if any role she played in arranging for underage girls to visit his home.
Read more:
Who’s who in the Jeffrey Epstein sex scandal?
Prince Andrew and Epstein: The claims and denials
Epstein’s death ‘raises serious questions’
Maxwell, 62, is serving a 20-year prison sentence after she was convicted of helping Epstein recruit and sexually abuse underage girls.
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Emily Foster is a globe-trotting journalist based in the UK. Her articles offer readers a global perspective on international events, exploring complex geopolitical issues and providing a nuanced view of the world’s most pressing challenges.
