Ghislaine Maxwell won't fight to keep names of 8 'John Does' secret any more, lawyer says



Convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell has ended her fight to protect the identities of eight "John Does" named in a civil lawsuit filed by accuser Virginia Giuffre, according to court documents filed last week.

The "John Does" — who were allegedly participants in Maxwell's and late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein's sex trafficking schemes — are now at the mercy of a New York judge as to whether their identities remain hidden from the public.

"Counsel for Ghislaine Maxwell writes to inform the Court that she does not wish to further address those objections," Maxwell's attorney, Laura Menninger, said in a letter to Judge Loretta Preska dated Jan. 12.

The eight "John Does" are designated by number in the letter as "Non-Parties 17, 53, 54, 55, 56, 73, 93, and 151."

Menninger noted that "each of the listed Does has counsel who have ably asserted their own respective privacy rights" and added that her client "therefore leaves it to this Court to conduct the appropriate review consistent with the Order and Protocol for Unsealing Decided Motions."

Insider reported that the lawsuit in question was settled in 2017. But Giuffre for years has fought to have the material unsealed to expose individuals who were allegedly involved with Maxwell and Epstein.

"The 'John Does' all appear to be people who have stepped into the litigation over the years and asserted privacy rights for parts of the sealed material," Insider noted.

The outlet was careful to add that just because Maxwell is no longer opposing the unsealing does not necessarily mean that all names will be released. But Maxwell's decision to stop fighting to keep their names secret certainly helps clear the way.

Maxwell, 60, a British socialite and longtime companion of Epstein, was found guilty last month on several sex trafficking-related charges — including conspiracy to commit sex trafficking and sex trafficking of an individual under 18 years old.

Following the guilty verdict, an attorney for Giuffre named Sigrid McCawley inquired as to whether Maxwell would still seek to keep the "John Does" secret.

"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," McCawley wrote.

Giuffrie, now 38, has long accused Maxwell and Epstein of coercing her into having sex with their high-profile associates, including Prince Andrew, Duke of York. In August 2021, Giuffrie sued Prince Andrew for taking advantage of her sexually on several occasions between 1999 and 2002.

Breaking: Jury finds Ghislaine Maxwell guilty of sex trafficking a minor



A Manhattan federal court jury found 60-year-old Ghislaine Maxwell guilty of several charges relating to sex trafficking of a minor on Wednesday after five full days of deliberation.

Maxwell was the girlfriend of convicted pedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein, and prosecutors were able to convince a jury that she aided the billionaire in locating his teenage victims from 1994 to about 2004. She was accused of recruiting and grooming the girls for Epstein, with most of the evidence consisting of testimony from four victims.

She was convicted of 5 out of 6 charges of luring teenage girls for sexual abuse, some as young as 14 years old. Maxwell was not convicted of one charge of enticing a minor to travel to engage in illegal sex acts.

Attorneys for Maxwell tried to argue that she was also a victim of Epstein's rather than an accomplice to his crimes.

Epstein died under mysterious circumstances in 2019 when he was found in his cell in Manhattan after apparently committing suicide. He was awaiting trial for sex trafficking when he died. Guards were supposed to have checked in on him every 30 minutes, but they neglected to do so due to insufficient staffing at the prison.

"The road to justice has been far too long. But, today, justice has been done," said U.S. Attorney Damian Williams in a statement about the verdict.

"I want to commend the bravery of the girls — now grown women — who stepped out of the shadows and into the courtroom," he added. "Their courage and willingness to face their abuser made this case, and today's result, possible."

Maxwell faces as many as 65 years in prison upon her sentencingnext year.

Here's more about the guilty verdict against Maxwell:

Ghislaine Maxwell convicted in Epstein sex abuse casewww.youtube.com

Ghislaine Maxwell forced young girls to do sexual performances for Jeffrey Epstein, court documents allege



Accused madam Ghislaine Maxwell directed a room full of young girls to "kiss, dance and touch one another in a sexual way" for Jeffrey Epstein's gratification, according to newly unsealed court documents. The alleged orgy-like performance by underage girls was detailed by an unidentified witness and alleged in 112 court documents that were released late Wednesday.

Shocking new court documents also expose explicit details about the madam and convicted pedophile by Anthony Figueroa, the ex-boyfriend of Virginia Roberts Giuffre, the longtime accuser of Epstein and Maxwell.

Giuffre, who has since settled a lawsuit against Maxwell, was allegedly forced into a threesome after "Jeffrey wanted Virginia to have sex with Ms. Maxwell," the Daily Mail reported. The pair allegedly used sex toys during the romp, court documents say.

"Ms. Maxwell and Jeffrey would obviously be doing stuff, all three of them together," Figueroa said, according to court documents. "Like I said, that they would all go out to clubs to pick up girls and try and find them to bring back for Jeffrey. And then she told me about how, like I said, her and Ms. Maxwell and Jeffrey were all intimate together on multiple occasions."

When Figueroa was asked by authorities about the claim that Giuffre was forced to have sex with Prince Andrew three times at the behest the Maxwell and Epstein, he admitted that he could not "recall," but added it "could be possible." He said that he only remembers Giuffre mentioning being forced to have sex with "just Ms. Maxwell and all the other girls."

Prince Andrew denies that he had sex with Giuffre.

Epstein's housekeeper of his mansion in Florida alleges that over the course of a decade, there were 100 girls who came to the home to give the disgraced financier "sexual massages," and the girls were purportedly paid $200.

In the newly unsealed court filings, Florida detective Joseph Recarey gave an interview to federal prosecutors in 2016 about Epstein's alleged behavior.

"Epstein would either attempt to fondle the girls or touch the girls inappropriately, and at which point he would masturbate," Recarey said, according to Vanity Fair. "And when he was done, he would get up and go wash off while the girls would get dressed and go back downstairs and get paid."

Court documents read, "One witness (redacted) was in tears, as he recounted (Maxwell) bringing a 15-year-old girl into his employer's home who, in utmost distress, told him that (Maxwell) stole the young girl's passport and tried to make her have sex with Epstein and then threatened her."

A witness testified that Maxwell "recruited her from her school campus to have sex with Epstein with lies about being her personal assistant," as reported by Fox News.

One court document is a handwritten note from July 2004 where the British socialite informed Epstein that a 14-year-old girl was "available" and that he had "no one for tomorrow."

Lawyers for Giuffre argue that the unsealed testimony is a smoking gun that Maxwell played a major role in recruiting girls for Epstein.

"It is not just the flight logs showing Defendant flying with Epstein and Ms. Giuffre over twenty times when she was a minor; it is not just the message pads from law enforcement's trash pulls that show Defendant arranging to have an underage girl come over to Epstein's house for 'training,' it is not just the police report; it is not just the photographs of [Maxwell] and other men with Ms. Giuffre when she was a minor," Giuffre's legal team wrote, the Daily Beast reported. "Now, there is actual, live testimonial evidence that [Maxwell] was a procurer of young girls for sex with Jeffrey Epstein, with whom she shared a home and a life, thus validating Ms. Giuffre's claims."

Maxwell denies helping Epstein recruit and groom girls for sex. Maxwell was arrested in July 2020. She has been held without bail since pleading not guilty to six charges, including two counts of conspiracy, enticement of a minor to travel to engage in illegal sex acts, transporting minors for illegal sex acts, and two counts of perjury.

Epstein, 66, committed suicide in his jail cell at the Metropolitan Correction Center in August 2019 as he was awaiting trial for sex trafficking of minors.