Following the recent release of case files that lawyers claim contain names and identifying information that should have been redacted, survivors of Epstein’s abuse have accused the US Department of Justice of failing to protect victims.
Victim advocates claim that the revelation has caused new distress because some of the women listed have never before been publicly connected to the case.
As part of a release that officials claimed was mandated by the Epstein Files Transparency Act, the documents were made available online on January 30.
The tranche contained roughly three million pages of records, 2,000 videos and 180,000 photos according to Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche.
Due to legal privilege victim privacy obligations and the existence of child sexual abuse material, he claimed millions more pages were being withheld.
Survivors claimed in a joint statement published by Australian and US media that the release seemed to expose victims while hiding alleged enablers behind redactions and secrecy.
The statement read, “Once again, survivors are having their names and identifying information exposed, while the men who abused us remain hidden and protected.”
US attorney Brad Edwards told ABC that after victims discovered their personal information in the content, his office received a tonne of calls.
He remarked, “It’s literally thousands of mistakes.” The Justice Department stated that it had established an email address for victims to report possible redaction errors so they could be fixed, in coordination with victims and their attorneys.
Also Read: How to Access the Newly released Jeffrey Epstein Files?
A political dispute over what has and hasn’t been released is also being fueled by the controversy.
The most recent revelations highlight Epstein’s connections to influential people and organizations once more, while survivors contend that accountability is still being postponed.
Ghislaine Maxwell, his associate, is serving a 20 year sentence for sex trafficking offenses and US prosecutors have not brought charges against anyone else regarding the larger network that victims claim exists.
