A federal judge on Tuesday ruled that the Justice Department can publicly release investigative materials from the sex trafficking case against Ghislaine Maxwell, a longtime associate of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. 

The decision, from Judge Paul A. Engelmayer, could make hundreds or thousands of previously unreleased documents public within 10 days if the Justice Department follows through on its promises to release the material.

The ruling comes after the Justice Department, in November, requested that two New York judges unseal grand jury transcripts and exhibits from both Maxwell’s and Epstein’s cases. The request was made in light of the recently passed Epstein Files Transparency Act, which requires the Justice Department to provide Epstein-related records to the public in a searchable format by December 19.

Judge Engelmayer is the second judge to approve the public disclosure of previously secret court records related to Epstein. Last week, a judge in Florida granted a similar request to release transcripts from a federal grand jury investigation into Epstein from the 2000s. A separate request to release records from Epstein’s 2019 sex trafficking case is still pending.

In recent court submissions, the Justice Department specified that the materials for release would cover 18 categories, including search warrants, financial records, survivor interview notes, and data from electronic devices. The government has said it is working with survivors and their lawyers to redact sensitive information to protect identities and prevent the circulation of sexualized images.

Maxwell’s lawyer indicated that his client took no official position but noted that the public release of materials “would create undue prejudice so severe that it would foreclose the possibility of a fair retrial” if a pending habeas petition were to succeed. 

One outspoken accuser, Annie Farmer, expressed support for the release through her lawyer, Sigrid S. McCawley. Ms. McCawley said that Ms. Farmer “is wary of the possibility that any denial of the motions may be used by others as a pretext or excuse for continuing to withhold crucial information concerning Epstein’s crimes,” the Associated Press reported.

Epstein, a financier, was arrested on sex trafficking charges in July 2019 and died by suicide in his jail cell a month later. Maxwell was convicted of sex trafficking in December 2021 and is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence at a minimum security prison camp in Texas.

Last week, U.S. District Judge Rodney Smith, nominated in 2018 by President Trump, granted a renewed request from the Justice Department to unseal grand jury materials from the 2005 and 2007 investigations into  Epstein.

“The Act applies to unclassified records, documents, communications, and investigative materials that relate to Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell,” Judge Smith wrote. “Consequently, the later-enacted and specific language of the Act trumps Rule 6’s prohibition on disclosure.”

An earlier request this year had been rejected due to strict grand jury secrecy laws.

The Florida grand jury investigation, conducted near Epstein’s West Palm Beach home, examined allegations that the financier was preying on underage girls. The investigation concluded with a controversial 2007 non-prosecution agreement with the federal government, which allowed Epstein to plead guilty to lesser state solicitation charges involving a single minor.

It is not yet clear when the materials will be made public. In its request, the Justice Department said it “will work with the relevant United States Attorney’s Offices to make appropriate redactions of victim-related and other personal identifying information.”