Ghislaine Maxwell, the convicted sex offender and known associate of Jewish-American financier and convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein, has ended her battle to keep the names of eight "John Does" confidential and is letting the court decide whether their names should be revealed, CNN reported, citing a letter dated January 12.
The names in question are part of a set of documents in a 2015 defamation lawsuit brought by Virginia Roberts Giuffre, who claims to be one of Epstein and Maxwell's victims, according to CNN.
The John Does have until now been anonymous in all court documents, and as such, their identities remain unconfirmed. They have been referred to in court so far as Does 17, 53, 54, 55, 73 and 93. However, according to Giuffre's attorney Sigrid McCawley, at least two of them, 53 and 54, do not object to their names being unsealed, according to CNN.
This development comes following Maxwell's conviction at the end of 2021 for sex trafficking in one of the most widely publicized trials of the year.
Maxwell and Epstein were involved together in a major sex trafficking and abuse scandal involving underage girls. This scandal went back years and included many prominent politicians and other notable figures. As such, the identities of those involved have remained a topic of considerable public interest.