A list of names associated with the late financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein is set to open to the public and bring new attention to a sex trafficking operation that has made international headlines for years.

A U.S. judge last month approved the unsealing of court documents in a 2015 defamation lawsuit filed by Virginia Giuffre, who accused Epstein and his associate Ghislaine Maxwell of trafficking her as a minor.

The documents are expected to reveal more than 150 names of people linked to Epstein, who died by suicide in a US prison in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking and other charges.

This includes people accused of misconduct as well as people who worked for Epstein or were only tangentially associated with him. The names also include suspected victims of sex trafficking and witnesses to crimes, US media reported.

Here you will find everything you need to know about the name list – and what effects it has.

Where do the names come from?

The names appear in court documents from the 2015 defamation lawsuit Giuffre filed Maxwella British celebrity who later was sentenced to 20 years in prison on sex trafficking-related charges.

Giuffre had accused Maxwell of facilitating her sexual abuse by Epstein and other powerful men. When Maxwell called these allegations “blatant lies,” Giuffre responded with a defamation lawsuit.

The case was finally settled in 2017. As part of the court’s findings, a judge made a decision wrote that Giuffre “was a victim of sustained sexual abuse of minors between 1999 and 2002.”

But the documents used in the case continued to generate interest even after the trial was concluded.

In 2018, the Miami Herald began legal proceedings to gain access to the documents. “Thousands of pages have been progressively released since then,” the Herald said, as part of a process to determine which files could be released.

However, many of the names in the documents had been blacked out. But on December 18, the U.S. District Court judge overseeing the case, Loretta Preska, ruled that some of the names could also be unsealed.

She gave everyone affected until midnight on January 1st to file an objection so that the files could be released as early as Tuesday.

How did the judge decide which names could be published?

Preska argued in her decision that many of the names had already been revealed through court testimony or depositions, as well as in media reports. Previously, certain people were referred to as John or Jane Doe in court documents.

However, some names remain secret because the individuals were minors at the time of the alleged sexual abuse and have not spoken publicly. “The public interest does not outweigh the privacy of the alleged minor victim,” Preska wrote.

However, concerns remain about how the public might react to newly released names. The documents themselves “may not make it clear why a particular individual was linked to Giuffre’s lawsuit,” ABC News reported.

However, the new revelations will likely help clarify the extent of Epstein’s alleged sex trafficking ring and his influence over powerful members of society.

Epstein died by suicide before he could stand trial on sex trafficking charges.

Will prominent names be there?

Britain’s Prince Andrew is expected to be named in the documents. Giuffre accused The British king forced her to have sex with him two decades ago when she was 17, a claim Prince Andrew has vehemently denied. The case was located in 2022.

According to ABC News, the unsealed court documents are expected to include details of a witness – identified as Jane Doe 162 – “who said she was at Epstein’s New York mansion with Prince Andrew, Maxwell and Giuffre, then 17.”

“Giuffre has alleged that the 2001 meeting was one of the occasions on which she was instructed to have sex with Andrew,” the news outlet reported.

Former US President Bill Clinton is also expected to be named in the released documents, although he has not been accused of wrongdoing by Giuffre. She said she met Clinton on Epstein’s private island in the Caribbean, US media reported.

When US prosecutors filed suit Sex trafficking and conspiracy allegations The former president’s spokesman Angel Urena said Clinton knew “nothing about the terrible crimes” the disgraced financier was accused of.

“In 2002 and 2003, President Clinton made a total of four trips on Jeffrey Epstein’s plane: one to Europe, one to Asia and two to Africa, including stops related to the work of the Clinton Foundation,” Urena said.

“He has not spoken to Epstein in well over a decade and has never been to Little St. James Island, Epstein’s ranch in New Mexico or his residence in Florida.”

ABC News reported that Clinton’s name appears more than 50 times in court records, but mentions of the former president are often related to attempts to subpoena him “to testify under oath about his relationship with Epstein.”

Statement on Jeffrey Epstein. pic.twitter.com/98ha9YYd1l

– Angel Ureña (@angelurena) July 8, 2019

How important is publication?

Rikki Klieman, CBS News legal analyst, said This week he said that “it is critically important that documents be unsealed so that the full story of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell can be made public.”

“As members of the public, we need to know who has an interest in protecting women, young girls and children from predators,” Klieman said.

Giuffre also commented on the publication on social media last month, calling Judge Preska “honorable” for her decision to publish the names and ensure transparency.

She added that it’s “going to be very nervous.” [people] over Christmas and New Year.”