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Crime

16th Jan 2022

Ghislaine Maxwell will no longer fight to keep names of eight high-profile ‘John Does’ secret

Danny Jones

Ghislaine Maxwell could name 'eight John Does'

Maxwell had previously kept the names a secret

Ghislaine Maxwell is now reportedly willing to reveal the names of eight ‘John Does’ involved in previous civil lawsuit against her in 2015, all of which are believed to be “high-profile” figures.

Maxwell – who is currently on suicide watch while awaiting trial after having been found guilty on five sex trafficking charges earlier this month – has now said that she will no longer fight for these eight individuals to keep their anonymity.

Following a request from Virginia Giuffre‘s legal team in their attempt to win their lawsuit against Prince Andrew, a letter from one of her lawyers, Laura Menninger, reads: “After careful review of the detailed objections submitted by [the eight Non-Party Does], counsel for Ghislaine Maxwell writes to inform the Court that she does not wish to further address those objections.

The letter, obtained by the Mail, essentially states that while there is no guarantee these eight names will now be revealed, Maxwell will no longer object to them becoming public knowledge.

Six of the ‘John Does’ are reported to have objected to the seal being lifted on their identities, with one insisting that were it to be revealed, he would be “hounded” by the media.

At present, these eight peoples are listed only as “Non-Parties 17, 53, 54, 55, 56, 73, 93 and 151” and presumed to be men, but it remains to be seem whether Judge Lorretta Preska will reveal their identities by unsealing them in court.

Menninger went on to say that “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 consistent with the Order and Protocol from Unsealing Decided Motions.”

Moreover, while the case was settled confidentially at the time, Preska has gradually been approving the release of hundreds of documents regarding the case after media organisations applied to have access. These names of these eight involved parties could simply be the next.

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