A federal judge has denied a motion that could have allowed the release of more than 1,000 documents related to the investigation of crimes committed by Jeffrey Epstein and others.

The motion, filed by the Miami Herald and investigative journalist Julie K. Brown, asked the judge to reconsider a previous decision to keep the files secret.

However, the judge, Loretta Preska, ruled that as established in other cases, “reconsideration should not be granted” where someone “seeks solely to relitigate an issue already decided”.

In response to the ruling, Ms Brown tweeted that “It’s pretty scary when a judge acknowledges that people can hide behind our criminal justice system. How does this happen”.

However, she added, “the fight isn’t over”.

Jeffrey Epstein: Controversies surrounding paedophile billionaire Show all 9 1 /9 Jeffrey Epstein: Controversies surrounding paedophile billionaire Jeffrey Epstein: Controversies surrounding paedophile billionaire Jeffrey Epstein in court Billionaire financier Jeffrey Epstein attends court as he pleads guilty to solicitation and procuring a person under the age of 18 for prostitution, 2008 Zuma/Rex Jeffrey Epstein: Controversies surrounding paedophile billionaire Jeffrey Epstein in court Billionaire financier Jeffrey Epstein pleaded guilty in 2008 to felony solicitation and procuring a person under the age of 18 for prostitution. He was sentenced to 18 months in jail. Epstein, allegedly paid several girls under the age of 18 in return for naked massages at his Palm Beach, Florida estate Zuma/Rex Jeffrey Epstein: Controversies surrounding paedophile billionaire Jeffrey Epstein's car Jeffrey Epstein is whisked away from the Palm Beach County jail in a black car shortly after 6am on 22 July 2009. Epstein left the jail through the sally port, where prisoners are brought in, rather than through the main doors where prisoners are routinely released Zuma/Rex Jeffrey Epstein: Controversies surrounding paedophile billionaire Jeffrey Epstein's mugshot Billionaire Jeffrey Epstein's mugshot, taken after he was indicted for soliciting a prostitute on 26 July 2006. Beginning in mid-March 2005, Epstein became the target of a sexual battery probe conducted by the Palm Beach Police Department, according to the affidavit, which alleges that Epstein paid a series of underage girls to engage in sexual activity with him. In a 2002 New York magazine profile of Epstein, Donald Trump called the moneyman a 'terrific guy' who 'likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side.' Epstein, who reportedly runs a multibillion-dollar investment fund, travels in his own Boeing 727 (upon which he has transported Bill Clinton to Africa) and owns a 45,000-square-foot mansion on Manhattan's Upper East Side Palm Beach County Sheriff's Department Jeffrey Epstein: Controversies surrounding paedophile billionaire Jack Goldberger, Jeffrey Epstein's attorney Jeffrey Epstein's attorney, Jack Goldberger, talks with reporters gathered outside the Palm Beach County jail on 22 July 2009 after Epstein was whisked away from the jail in a black car Zuma/Rex Jeffrey Epstein: Controversies surrounding paedophile billionaire Jeffrey Epstein Florida Police department sexual offenders database picture of Jeffrey Epstein taken in 2013 Jeffrey Epstein: Controversies surrounding paedophile billionaire Jeffrey Epstein's mansion His Palm Beach mansion in Florida Google Jeffrey Epstein: Controversies surrounding paedophile billionaire Jeffrey Epstein's island The private Caribbean island, Little St James is part of the US Virgin Islands NBC News Jeffrey Epstein: Controversies surrounding paedophile billionaire Jeffrey Epstein's island The private Caribbean island, Little St James is part of the US Virgin Islands NBC News

The sealed documents date from a 2015 lawsuit brought against Epstein’s associate Ghislaine Maxwell by Virginia Giuffre, who has alleged she was procured for Epstein by Ms Maxwell at 16, raped by Epstein, and trafficked to be abused by his high-profile friends – among them Prince Andrew. The lawsuit was settled in 2017; Prince Andrew denies any wrongdoing.

The documents from the case are believed to contain the names of various Epstein associates who allegedly travelled to his properties, including on his private 727 jet nicknamed the “Lolita Express”.

Starting in 2018, Ms Brown and the Herald published a three-part investigation into Epstein’s crimes, “Perversion of Justice”, a highly detailed account of an alleged sex ring run by Epstein and Ms Maxwell.

In the series, they detailed how the now-dead financier had escaped prosecution for sexual crimes and allegedly continued to offend and evade justice. They continued to pursue the story, and pressure on Epstein and those who had allegedly helped protect him culminated in his arrest in July 2019.