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An anonymous man would really like to keep his name — and his alleged connection to the deceased child sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein — a secret.
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His fear, according to court documents filed Tuesday, is that past legal challenges implicating the disgraced financier may also “implicate the privacy and reputational interests” of people like him, who haven’t been directly involved in any litigation against Epstein, according to Bloomberg News.
The unnamed man, otherwise known as “John Doe,” asked that the judge overseeing the sealed deposition of Virginia Giuffre, one of Epstein’s more vocal accusers who sued his alleged madam Ghislaine Maxwell for defamation in 2015, keep those documents sealed or at least partially redacted.
READ: Epstein accuser says Britain’s Prince Andrew abused her
John Doe didn’t say why his name might appear in any documents relating to that case, according to Bloomberg News, though the last round of documents the judge unsealed included Giuffre’s allegations that Prince Andrew and financier Glenn Dubin abused her when she was a minor and being flown around the world by Epstein. (Both men denied the allegations.)
Epstein, who was charged with human trafficking and conspiracy in July, killed himself in his Manhattan jail cell in early August and effectively ended the government’s investigation into his crimes. None of his alleged co-conspirators or enablers have been charged in the international sex ring Epstein allegedly organized to abuse dozens of young girls. But federal investigators have vowed to look into his associates, although they’re not yet naming any target in particular.
READ: Jeffrey Epstein’s victims are enraged they can’t face him in court
Giuffre, meanwhile, sued Maxwell after the woman called Giuffre a liar when she went public with her accusations against Epstein. In her deposition, Giuffre alleged that Epstein, with Maxwell’s help, abused her over the course of several years when she was a teenager and forced her into having sex with other men. Maxwell denied Giuffre’s allegations and the case was settled for an undisclosed amount. The related court documents were kept secret until hundreds of pages were unsealed just one day before Epstein’s suicide on August 10.
And U.S. District Judge Loretta Preska is set to discuss Wednesday whether another trove of documents relating to that case should be made public. It’s unclear whether the judge will abide by the John Doe’s wish to remain unidentified.
READ: Jeffrey Epstein’s taste in art, books, and music seems pretty twisted in hindsight
Cover: Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell at Cipriani Wall Street on March 15, 2005, in New York City. (Photo by Joe Schildhorn/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images)
