&nbsp;ISLAMABAD: A judge has ruled that the names of two women linked to Jeffrey Epstein&rsquo;s abuse case will remain confidential for their safety, rejecting NBC&rsquo;s bid for public disclosure.&nbsp;A federal judge decided to keep confidential the identities of two women once considered potential co-conspirators of Jeffrey Epstein, citing ongoing safety and privacy concerns. This follows an NMC News request to unseal their names, which was opposed by the women&rsquo;s lawyers and the US Justice Department. Judge Richard Berman ruled that threats to the women&rsquo;s safety persist and releasing their identities would &lsquo;endanger&rsquo; them.&nbsp;&nbsp;NBC News attorney Alexander Ziccardi had argued under the first amendment of the United States&rsquo; constitution that the public has a &ldquo;presumptive right of access&rdquo; to the names redacted from a July 2019 government letter addressed to Judge Berman. The letter, submitted by prosecutors opposing Epstein&rsquo;s bail, responded to the judge&rsquo;s questions about two unidentified individuals referenced in the legal arguments.&nbsp;Prosecutors acknowledged that both women had publicly been associated with Epstein and allegations of sexual abuse spanning over two decades. Epstein had secured these women&rsquo;s protection through a 2007 nonprosecution agreement with Florida federal prosecutors.&nbsp;In late 2018, following renewed media attention on Epstein&rsquo;s abuses and the earlier deal he struck, he paid one woman $100,000 and the other $250,000. Federal authorities in New York, who stated they were not bound by the Florida agreement, later arrested Epstein in July 2019 on federal sex trafficking charges.&nbsp;The 2019 letter noted that the woman paid $250,000 was identified in the indictment as one of Epstein&rsquo;s employees. The indictment accused her and two other employees of facilitating trafficking by contacting victims and arranging sexual encounters with Epstein at his residences in Manhattan and Palm Beach, Florida.&nbsp;The women&rsquo;s lawyers recently opposed public disclosure of their names. One attorney revealed that Epstein&rsquo;s payment recipient faced death threats due to misinformation and was cleared after an FBI investigation. Another lawyer stated both women were &ldquo;severely victimized by Jeffrey Epstein&rdquo; and deserved the same protections given to other victims.&nbsp;Epstein died by apparent suicide in a New York federal jail in August 2019 before his trial commenced. His former partner, Ghislaine Maxwell, was convicted on sex trafficking charges in December 2021 and is serving a 20-year sentence.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Judge keeps identities of Epstein co-conspirators sealed 

Americas

A federal judge decided to keep confidential the identities of two women once considered potential co-conspirators of Jeffrey Epstein, citing ongoing safety and privacy concerns. 

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Judge keeps identities of Epstein co-conspirators sealed