Maxwell battles to keep ‘personal’ files on sex life out of court

Documents that may be unsealed by an American judge are likely to cause further embarrassment to Prince Andrew.

Ghislaine Maxwell has offered a $US5m ($7.3m) guarantee and agreed to surrender her British, American and French passports in return for bail. Picture: Getty Images

Ghislaine Maxwell is seeking to block the release of hundreds of pages of secret court evidence that could pile further pressure on Prince Andrew and other public figures embroiled in the Jeffrey Epstein child sex controversy.

Lawyers acting for the British socialite argue that the sealed documents are “extremely personal” and may be used to “promote public scandal”.

The evidence is said to include the names of “hundreds of people” allegedly linked to Epstein and 418 pages of Maxwell’s own testimony. Police reports and details of flights taken on Epstein’s private jet, known as “the Lolita Express”, are also among the documents.

Maxwell’s secrecy action emerged as she prepared to appear in court in New York on Tuesday on charges of grooming and trafficking minors, including a 14-year-old girl, between 1994 and 1997, and two counts of perjury. She faces up to 35 years in jail if convicted.

Ms Maxwell, 58, “vigorously denies” the charges. She has offered a $US5m ($7.3m) guarantee and agreed to surrender her British, American and French passports in return for bail.

Prince Andrew could face further embarrassment as the Maxwell matter comes before a US court.

The evidence that Ms Maxwell is attempting to suppress is related to a civil defamation action brought against her by Virginia Roberts Giuffre. Ms Roberts Giuffre has previously claimed she was forced to have sex with Andrew three times in 2001-2, beginning when she was 17. She alleges she was introduced to the prince by Epstein and Ms Maxwell, who was then the disgraced US financier’s girlfriend. Andrew strenuously denies the claims. Ms Roberts Giuffre, who now lives in Australia, brought the defamation case in 2015 after Ms Maxwell accused her of lying. It was settled in 2017 before it reached trial, but more than 900 court filings remained under seal or redacted.

Last year a US federal appeals court ordered the release of 2000 pages of the evidence. A district judge in New York is considering unsealing many of the remaining files. The documents include the identities of people who associated with Epstein over more than a decade and who may need to be notified before any disclosure.

In a filing last month, Ms Maxwell’s lawyer Jeffrey Pagliuca said the sealed documents also included “intrusive questions about (her) sex life”. “The subject matter of these is extremely personal, confidential and subject to considerable abuse by the media,” it says. “Courts must exercise their supervisory power over their own records and files to ensure they are not used to gratify private spite or promote public scandal.”

The secret evidence could include further allegations regarding the Duke of York’s involvement with Epstein and Ms Maxwell, whom Andrew regards as a friend.

The Sunday Times