Epstein case: files contain names of victims, bank accounts and nude photos with faces not obscured

New York (New York, USA), 5 February (LaPresse/AP) – Nude photos, the names and faces of victims of sexual abuse, bank account numbers and social security numbers. All this information appeared in the mountain of documents made public on Friday by the US Department of Justice as part of its commitment to comply with a law requiring it to make the files on the Jeffrey Epstein investigation accessible. The law was intended to preserve important privacy protections for the victims: their names were to be redacted from the documents, as were their faces and bodies. However, there were numerous errors. A review conducted by the Associated Press and other news organisations found countless examples of sloppy, inconsistent or non-existent redactions that revealed sensitive private information. A photo of a girl who was a minor at the time she was hired to provide sexual massages to Epstein in Florida, for example, appeared in a list of alleged victims. Police reports with the names of many of the victims, including some who never came forward to identify themselves publicly, were made public without any redactions. Despite efforts by the Department of Justice to correct itself, a selfie taken by a naked woman in a bathroom and another by a topless woman remained on the site, with their ages unknown but their faces in full view.