Newly released documents shed light on an early failure by US authorities to investigate financier Jeffrey Epstein, despite clear allegations of sexual abuse dating back to 1996.
According to the documents, Maria Farmer, a painter and Annie Farmer's sister, reported to federal authorities at the time that Epstein had sexually abused and possessed, stolen and distributed nude photographs of underage girls. She also alleged that Epstein repeatedly solicited photos of young girls in swimming pools and private settings.
The FBI report also includes serious allegations of direct threats against Maria Farmer. According to her testimony, Epstein had warned her that he would burn down her house if she told anyone about the existence of these photos. However, despite the seriousness of the allegations and the details provided, federal authorities did not take immediate investigative action.
Maria Farmer's lawyer, Jennifer Freeman, stated that if the report had been properly investigated at the time, over 1,000 girls could have been saved from abuse and decades of trauma could have been avoided.
Annie Farmer testified at Ghislaine Maxwell's trial in 2021 that she was just 16 when she was abused by Epstein and Maxwell. She described how Maxwell groomed her for abuse at Epstein's New Mexico estate, while Maria Farmer, without her knowledge, was used as a "conduit" to bring her to the financier.
Annie Farmer also recalled visits to Manhattan, where Epstein initially behaved friendly, but then began touching and sexually harassing her.
Court documents show that, after Maria Farmer's report, Epstein's abuse continued for years. He is accused of raping and exploiting dozens of underage girls from 2002 to 2005 at his residences in Manhattan and Palm Beach, Florida.
Maria Farmer described the release of the FBI report after so many years as a “triumph and tragedy at the same time,” expressing relief at the veracity of her testimony but also pain for the many victims who, she said, could have been protected. Meanwhile, Annie Farmer raised questions about why the FBI did not take the initial complaint seriously and whether Epstein may have benefited from protection because of his possible connections to government structures. The new documents reinforce allegations of institutional failure in one of the most serious sexual abuse scandals in modern American history, highlighting the grave consequences of decades of inaction by the authorities.
