Sex offender Epstein: Clinton, Jackson named in court files

The UK’s Prince Andrew and Bill Clinton are among high-profile figures named in US court papers detailing connections of late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

The newly-released records form part of a case against Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein’s girlfriend who has been jailed for helping him abuse girls.

But the documents so far unveil no major new allegations about Epstein nor revelations about his associates.

Prince Andrew is accused of groping a woman, which he denies.

Other names in the documents include singer Michael Jackson and magician David Copperfield, though no wrongdoing is alleged.

Mr Clinton appears in a number of the documents. The former US president has acknowledged being a former associate of Epstein but has strongly denied he had any knowledge of his crimes.

The first files from the much-hyped trove - covering about 900 pages - were released on Wednesday, after an order by New York Judge Loretta Preska, who acknowledged many of those named had already been identified by the media or in Maxwell’s criminal trial.

Judge Preska said that many others did not raise an objection to the release of the documents. However, she ordered that some names remain redacted because they would identify victims of sexual abuse.

Some of the more than 100 people on the list make allegations about other individuals, or are potential witnesses, and more documents are expected to be released in the coming days.

Epstein pleaded guilty to soliciting prostitution from a minor in 2009 and took his own life in 2019 while awaiting trial over sex-trafficking charges.

(With inputs from BBC)