Epstein files rife with uncensored nudes and victims names despite redaction efforts

Nude photos. The names and faces of sexual abuse victims. Bank account and Social Security numbers in full view. All of these things appeared in the mountain of documents released publicly by the US Justice Department as part of its effort to comply with a law requiring it to open its investigative files on Jeffrey Epstein.

That law was intended to preserve important privacy protections for Epstein’s victims. Their names were supposed to have been blacked out in documents.  Their faces and bodies were supposed to be obscured in photos. Mistakes, though, have been rampant. A review by The Associated Press and other news organisations has found countless examples of sloppy, inconsistent or nonexistent redactions that have revealed sensitive private information.

A photo of one girl who was underage when she was hired to give sexualised massages to Epstein in Florida appeared in a chart of his alleged victims. Police reports with the names of several of his victims, including some who have never stepped forward to identify themselves publicly, were released with no redactions at all. Despite the Justice Department’s efforts to fix the oversights, a photo of one topless woman remained on the site, with her face in full view, on Wednesday evening.

Some accusers and their lawyers called this week for the Justice Department to take down the site and appoint an independent monitor to prevent further errors. A judge scheduled a hearing for Wednesday in New York on the matter, then cancelled it after one of the lawyers for victims cited progress in resolving the issues. But that lawyer, Brittany Henderson, said they were still weighing “all potential avenues of recourse” to address the “permanent and irreparable” harm caused to some women.”