A federal judge on Monday issued an order directing the redaction of “inadvertently disclosed” photos from publicly released records related to accused sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein.
The New York Post reported the images featured girls and young women posing on Epstein’s infamous Caribbean island.
“The Clerk of the Court is directed to strike docket entry 1332-7 in the above-captioned case because it contains inadvertently disclosed images that should have been redacted. Counsel shall re-file the stricken document as soon as is practicable,” U.S. District Judge Loretta Preska said in the order.
BREAKING.🚨
Judge issues *whoops* in aftermath of releasing new Epstein images. pic.twitter.com/VGw6qNTXkM
— Kyle Becker (@kylenabecker) January 8, 2024
The photos were taken on Epstein’s Little St. James Island in 2006 and provided to the court by Epstein accuser Sarah Ransome, according to the Post.
Ransome, now 37, is seen wrapped in a white towel in one of the images, which were shared on social media.
There are also photos of Epstein’s sex crime accomplice, Ghislaine Maxwell, as well as his friend Jean-Luc Brunel, a French modeling scout who was found dead in a Parisian prison cell after being charged with raping underage girls, the Post said.
Maxwell is serving a 20-year prison sentence for sexually exploiting underage girls.
Should all Epstein files be released without redaction?
In 2022, the Post reported that Ransome testified in Maxwell’s criminal case that her time on Epstein’s island was “[l]ike Hotel California, you could check into the Epstein-Maxwell dungeon of sexual hell, but you could never leave.”
“I frequently experience flashbacks and wake up in a cold sweat from nightmares reliving the awful experience,” Ransome said.
She turned over her photos to the court in 2015 as part of a lawsuit brought by Epstein accuser Virginia Roberts Giuffre against Maxwell.
Giuffre’s attorney said the photos “unequivocally” established Maxwell’s presence on Little St. James Island during the period in question.
Last month, Preska ordered a trove of documents from that case to be released.
“You know, all the girls kind of reported to Ghislaine,” Ransome testified, according to the court documents. “Ghislaine was like the mama bear, if you know what I mean. She called the shots; we had to listen to Ghislaine.”
“They were really naughty,” she said. “You know, they took girls from very underprivileged families. They gave them accommodation, they gave them food, gave them money for transportation, you know, private planes, etc, etc.”
“So if I didn’t have sex with Jeffrey, I would be homeless and starving in New York, so — and my dream of getting a full- time education at one of the top fashion institutes in the world would be diminished.”
“And Ghislaine was Jeffrey’s right-hand woman, so, you know, whatever Jeffrey wanted went through Ghislaine and then filtered through,” Ransome said.
Epstein died in federal custody in 2019 after being charged with sex trafficking and conspiracy to traffic minors for sex.
