Order on Maxwell Grand Jury Material Disclosure (Aug 2025)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, -v- GHISLAINE MAXWELL, Defendant. 20 Cr. 330 (PAE) OPINION & ORDER PAUL A. ENGELMAYER, District Judge: On December 29, 2021, a jury convicted defendant Ghislaine Maxwell of five felonies involving the sexual abuse of young girls that she and the notorious pedophile Jeffrey Epstein committed between 1994 and 2004. This decision resolves the Government’s July 18, 2025 motion to unseal grand jury transcripts and exhibits in Maxwell’s case, subject to redactions aimed at protecting victim confidentiality. Dkt. 785; see also Dkt. 808. For the reasons that follow, the Court denies the motion.1 I. Background to the Motion to Unseal A. Indictments In late November 2018, prompted by investigative journalism, the United States Attorney in this District opened an investigation into Epstein and his co-conspirators. On July 2, 2019, a grand jury returned an indictment that charged Epstein with participating in a sex trafficking conspiracy, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1591(a) and (b).2 On July 6, 2019, Epstein was arrested. 1 A motion seeking, on similar terms, the unsealing of grand jury materials in Epstein’s case is pending before the Hon. Richard M. Berman. See United States v. Epstein, 19 Cr. 490 (RMB) (S.D.N.Y. July 18, 2025), Dkt. 61. 2 See United States v. Epstein, 19 Cr. 490 (RMB) (S.D.N.Y. July 2, 2019), Dkt. 2. Case 1:20-cr-00330-PAE Document 809 Filed 08/11/25 Page 1 of 31 2 On August 10, 2019, Epstein committed suicide while in pretrial custody at the Metropolitan Correctional Center (“MCC”). See generally Dkt. 670 at 3–4; Dkt. 785 at 2. On June 29, 2020, a grand jury in this District returned a six-count indictment against Maxwell, alleging that she had facilitated and participated in Epstein’s sexual abuse of multiple minor girls. It charged her with conspiracy to entice minors to travel t