NEW YORK (NewsNation) — The release of more than 150 names mentioned in court documents from a civil case filed by one of Jeffrey Epstein’s victims was postponed.
The documents won’t be made public until at least Jan. 22, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York confirmed to NewsNation.
The delay comes after a judge granted a 30-day extension to a Jane Doe to consider her appeal to remain confidential.
A judge ruled the names could be unsealed beginning Jan. 1. However, court was closed on that date because of the New Year’s holiday.
These documents come from a settled civil lawsuit Virginia Giuffre filed against British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell in 2015.
The Miami Herald has been fighting to unseal documents filed as part of the lawsuit since 2018. The legal battle escalated in December when U.S. District Judge Loretta Preska ordered the names could be unsealed beginning Jan. 1.
Preska ordered some names be redacted to protect the anonymity of minors who were victims of sex crimes.
Giuffre claimed Epstein and Maxwell pressured her as a teenager to engage in sexual relationships with powerful men, including Prince Andrew. Those men denied the allegations, and Giuffre later settled a lawsuit against Prince Andrew out of court.
People named in the documents are unlikely to face prosecution if they haven't already, criminal defense attorney Janet Johnson told NewsNation on Monday.
“These names were actually kept secret because the judge found that because they did not do anything wrong, there wasn’t any reason at that point to release them and embarrass them,” Johnson said.
Several “prominent” names are expected to be mentioned in court documents, according to an ABC News report. One of these names in the redacted filings is that of former President Bill Clinton. Clinton, identified as “Doe 36,” is mentioned in at least 50 filings, the news outlet said.
Allegations against Epstein first surfaced publicly in 2005.
He pleaded guilty to sex charges in Florida and served 13 months in jail. He spent much of that time in a work-release program as part of a deal critics called lenient. He ultimately was required to register as a sex offender.
Federal prosecutors in New York went on to revive the case against Epstein after a series of stories by the Miami Herald in 2018 brought renewed attention to the matter.
In 2019, New York prosecutors said they weren't bound by the previous non-prosecution deal, and Epstein was again arrested. He killed himself in prison a month later.
Maxwell was arrested at a New Hampshire estate less than one year after Epstein's death.
A jury convicted her in December 2021 of multiple charges, including sex trafficking, conspiracy and transportation of a minor for illegal sexual activity. She is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence.
The Associated Press and NewsNation Katie Smith and Tyler Wornell contributed to this report.
