These settlements include nondisclosure agreements that prohibit them from speaking publicly about their experiences, Edwards and the other people told Business Insider, part of the Axel Springer Global Reporters Network, which includes POLITICO.

It’s unclear how many Epstein accusers signed prelitigation settlements and with how many of his associates. No public records for them exist. One person told Business Insider they had direct knowledge of settlements with four of Epstein’s friends who were accused of sexual misconduct by more than 20 women between them. The person said the women accused those men of coercing them into nonconsensual and abusive sexual encounters.

Maxwell argued in her court filing that these men “could equally be considered as co-conspirators” and that she was denied a fair trial because she would have called those men as witnesses had she known about the settlements.