© Getty Ghislaine Maxwell attends NATIONAL URBAN TECH CENTER 2014 Gala at Three Sixty on June 11, 2014 in New York City. (Photo by Jimi Celeste/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images)

Ms Maxwell’s attorneys details the “highly confidential” material in a proposed protective order filed at a Manhattan court on Monday, arguing it should be kept out of public view.

“The highly confidential information contains nude, partially-nude, or otherwise sexualised images, videos, or other depictions of individuals,” which Ms Maxwell does not wish to be “disseminated, transmitted, or otherwise copies,” it reads.

© Provided by The Telegraph Audrey Strauss, Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York announces charges against Ghislaine Maxwel in New York – ReutersThe British socialite, 58, is being held in Metropolitan Detention Centre in Brooklyn, New York, without bail while awaiting trial for grooming underage girls for associate Jeffrey Epstein’s sexual abuse. She has pleaded not guilty to all six charges on the indictment.

It is thought the sensitive material relates to Ms Maxwell, but it is not known who else might feature.

When the FBI raided Epstein’s Manhattan mansion last year investigators found a stash of nude photographs of underage girls. A black book of clients was also discovered, which contained the names of a number of high-profile figures.

© ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE – This March 28, 2017, file photo, provided by the New York State Sex Offender Registry, shows Jeffrey Epstein. British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell was arrested by the FBI on Thursday, July 2, 2020, on charges she helped procure underage sex partners for the financier. (New York State Sex Offender Registry via AP, File)It appeared on Monday that prosecutors at the Southern District of New York (SDNY) were blindsided by the filing, noting in response that they had been in discussion on what discovery materials should be made public and only disagreed on two details.

“The government had understood those discussions to be ongoing,” they wrote.

Prosecutors and Ms Maxwell’s legal teams asked Judge Alison Nathan to resolve two disputes about the evidence. Ms Maxwell’s attorneys wanted any witnesses, including alleged victims, to not be allowed to use evidence for any purpose beyond preparing for her criminal trial.

© (Photo by LILLIAN SUWANRUMPHA/AFP via Getty Images) Britain’s Prince Andrew, Duke of York arrives for the ASEAN Business and Investment Summit in Bangkok on November 3, 2019, on the sidelines of the 35th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit. (Photo by Lillian SUWANRUMPHA / AFP)She is also facing a civil lawsuit brought by one of Epstein’s victims, Virginia Roberts Giuffre, who alleges she was forced to sleep with Prince Andrew when she was 17. The Duke of York has denied all accusations.

In that case, US District Judge Loretta Preska ruled last Thursday that the 80 documents in question – which run to hundreds of pages – should be unsealed this week.

It is expected that the files will expose fresh details about Ms Maxwell’s sex life as well as her relation to powerful figures accused of taking part in the abuse of the late financier’s victims.

© Provided by The Telegraph She is also facing a civil lawsuit brought by one of Epstein’s victims, Virginia Roberts Giuffre, who alleges she was forced to sleep with Prince Andrew when she was 17. The Duke of York has denied all accusations. – GettyMs Maxwell’s lawyers had pushed to keep these documents secret, claiming previously “this series of pleadings concerns [attempts] to compel Ms Maxwell to answer intrusive questions about her sex life” that are “extremely personal, confidential and subject to considerable abuse by the media”.

The attorneys worry that public disclosure of the material in the criminal case could not only prejudice a jury ahead of Ms Maxwell’s trial, but also taint any pending civil cases.

Ms Maxwell’s attorney also sought permission to be allowed to identify witnesses and alleged victims who had “already identified themselves by going on the public record”.

“There is a substantial concern that these individuals will seek to use discovery materials to support their civil cases and future public statements,” Ms Maxwell’s legal team wrote in the Monday filing. “It is therefore vital that the government’s potential witnesses and their counsel be subject to the same restrictions as Ms Maxwell.”

The heiress unsuccessfully sought a gag order last week restricting the prosecution, investigators and victims’ attorneys from talking about the charges against her.