New York

Advertisment

A couple of days after a federal judge announced the unsealing of names of over 170 people associated with disgraced paedophile Jeffrey Epstein, one of his victims has come forward with a request. The victim has asked the judge to keep her identity secret, saying she "lives in fear" for her safety. 

The anonymous victim, identified as "Doe 107" in the court documents filed the request through her attorney in front of Manhattan Federal Judge Loretta Preska. 

“She lives outside the United States in a culturally conservative country and lives in fear of her name being released," her attorney stated, adding that the victim "faces risks of physical harm". 

Advertisment

Although the victim was not one of the individuals referenced in the soon-to-be unsealed documents, her attorney sought clarification if the court had already decided not to reveal the woman's identity. 

Notably, the judge had requested Doe 107 to provide an affidavit that supported her claim that she faced risk of physical harm in her country and details concerning one of the hate mail she had received, by November 22. 

However, Doe 107 failed to turn in the affidavit by the deadline as she switched attorneys and the new legal representation wasn't aware of the cut-off. 

Advertisment

WATCH | Private Islands owned by Jeffrey Epstein

Release of documents

Notably, on Monday, Judge Preska announced the release of long-sealed documents that are related to Epstein accuser Virginia Roberts Giuffre who had brought a defamation suit against his madam, Ghislaine Maxwell, back in 2015. 

Prior to the ruling, dozens of individuals, including some high-class personalities had only been identified as "Jane Does” or “John Does” in various court filings linked to the suit.

Also read | Explained | Jeffrey Epstein scandal continues ‘beyond the grave’. Here’s all you need to know

Noting that many of the names are already public due to interviews and other media coverage, the judge, as per CNS News, said that the substance in question was not salacious and should not be kept sealed.

The individuals, whose names appear in the documents have been given 14 days to appeal the decision, the court documents reveal. 

The documents related to the case have slowly trickled into the public since 2019 when the first batch was released, days before Epstein allegedly hanged himself in prison, awaiting trial. 

(With inputs from agencies)