WASHINGTON: Survivors of notorious sex offender Jeffrey Epstein sued the US government and Google on Thursday over victims’ identities being mistakenly revealed in a trove of documents published online by the Justice Department (DOJ).

The DOJ released more than three million files in January related to the investigation into the disgraced financier, including his links to high-profile figures.

But officials were left scrambling after names of victims — who were supposed to be anonymised — were left unredacted.

The DOJ “outed approximately 100 survivors of the convicted sexual predator, publishing their private information and identifying them to the world,” the plaintiffs said.

Claim DOJ violated Privacy Act, Google continues to display their personal info

“Even after the government acknowledged the disclosure violated the rights of the survivors and withdrew the information, online entities like Google continuously republish it, refusing the victims’ pleas to take it down,” they added. Google continues to display victims’ personal information in search results and AI-generated content, the case says.

Journalists at the New York Times also found dozens of naked photos in the files that included people’s faces.

Epstein was convicted in 2008 of soliciting sex from girls as young as 14, but died in a New York jail cell in 2019 before he could be tried on sex trafficking charges.

“Survivors now face renewed trauma. Strangers call them, email them, threaten their physical safety, and accuse them of conspiring with Epstein when they are, in reality, Epstein’s victims,” the case filing said.

The Trump administration, namely Attorney General Pam Bondi, has come under intense scrutiny for its handling of the Epstein investigation since the first batch of files was released in December.

Plaintiffs claim that the government violated the Privacy Act of 1974, and that Google violated California laws on invasion of privacy, negligent infliction of emot ional distress and unlawful business practices.

The plaintiffs claim that DOJ officials eng­a­­ged in a “release now, retract later” approach that resulted in “some combination” of names, phone numbers and other victim-identifying information being disclosed to the public.

“The United States, acting through the DOJ, made a deliberate policy choice to prioritise rapid, large-volume disclosure over protection of Epstein survivors’ privacy,” they stated.

“As a result of Google’s actions, [plaintiff class] remains easily discoverable by anyone with internet access, perpetuating the privacy invasion and enabling ongoing harassment, stalking, and reputational harm,” it continued.

The plaintiffs are seeking minimum damages of $1,000 per survivor from the Justice Department and punitive damages “in amo­unts sufficient to punish and deter” Google.

The group also asked the court to order Google to immediately and permanently take down the survivors’ personal information.

High-profile figures

US President Donald Trump, former US president Bill Clinton, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, and SpaceX founder Elon Musk are among the high-profile figures who, the new documents revealed, had links to Epstein.

Former prince Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor is also being investigated for alleged misconduct in public office following revelations about his dealings with Epstein.

He was arrested and released in February on suspicion of having passed confidential information to Epstein during his 2001-2011 role as a UK trade envoy.

Norway’s Crown Princess Mette-Marit said she was “manipulated” by Epstein, in a recent interview broadcast in which she sought to explain their close relationship.

A commoner who married Crown Prince Haakon in 2001, Mette-Marit’s name appears in new Epstein documents.

Published in Dawn, March 28th, 2026