Ghislaine Maxwell Ends Fight to Keep Eight ‘John Does’ Secret

Jeffrey Epstein accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell will no longer fight to keep the names of eight “John Does” secret, leaving it up to the court to decide whether or not to reveal their identities.

“After careful review of the detailed objections submitted by Non-Party Does 17, 53, 54, 55, 73, 93 and 151, counsel for Ghislaine Maxwell writes to inform the Court that she does not wish to further address those objections,” Maxwell attorney Laura Menninger wrote in a letter on January 12.

“Each of the listed Does has counsel who have ably asserted their own respective privacy rights. Ms. Maxwell therefore leaves it to this Court to conduct the appropriate review,” it added.

The Does were named in a 2015 defamation suit against Ghislaine Maxwell from Epstein accuser Virginia Roberts Giuffre, who claimed that Maxwell aided in Jeffrey Epstein’s sexual abuse of her as a minor. Guiffre attorney Sigrid McCawley argued that potential embarrassment for having associated with Jeffrey Epstein should not be enough reason for the court to keep the John Does’ names secret. McCawley wrote:

[G]eneralized aversion to embarrassment and negativity that may come from being associated with Epstein and Maxwell is not enough to warrant continued sealing of information. This is especially true with respect to this case of great public interest, involving serious allegations of the sex trafficking of minors.

Now that Maxwell’s criminal trial has come and gone, there is little reason to retain protection over the vast swaths of information about Epstein and Maxwell’s sex-trafficking operation that were originally filed under seal in this case.

Last month, a jury convicted former Epstein accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell of sex trafficking of minors, transporting a minor with the intent to engage in criminal sexual activity, and three counts of conspiracy. She will not be sentenced until June of this year and could face up to 60 years in prison.