Jeffrey Epstein accuser sues federal government for failing to protect her and other victims
Jeffrey Epstein accuser Maria Farmer filed a lawsuit against the federal government Thursday, alleging that it failed to protect her and other victims of the convicted sex offender and Ghislaine Maxwell.
The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, accuses the Justice Department, U.S. Attorney's Offices, and the FBI of negligence and negligent infliction of emotional distress.
According to the lawsuit, Farmer first reported to the FBI that she was sexually assaulted by the pair in 1996 and warned that they "had committed multiple serious sex crimes" against girls, including her minor sister.
Farmer also allegedly told the FBI that Epstein stole nude and partially nude photos of two of her minor sisters who he transported across state lines and that he and others engaged in "possession, production, and distribution of sexually lascivious or exploitative images of children," which could constitute child pornography.
Farmer reported these allegations to the FBI again in 2006, she told NBC News.
"Despite the seriousness of Maria's allegations, the likelihood that criminal conduct was continuing, the requirements of federal regulation and mandatory express policy to investigate or conduct a serious preliminary inquiry regarding such allegations and, if indicated, refer such allegations to local investigators and prosecutors, the statutory designation of the FBI as a mandatory reporter of child sex abuse and exploitation, and the federal prioritization of investigation of child pornography and child sex abuse crimes, the FBI, in violation of its mandatory obligations under regulations and DOJ policies, chose to do absolutely nothing," the lawsuit states.
Farmer and her attorneys allege that an FBI agent she was speaking to hung up on her and that no one at the agency followed up.
"As a result, Epstein and others working with him were able to threaten bodily harm to Maria and her family for decades, forcing her to relocate many times and even change her name," according to the lawsuit. "In the meantime, Epstein exponentially multiplied his sexual abuse, exploitation, and trafficking of girls and young women."
In a statement, Farmer said: "It is time for the FBI and the U.S. Attorney's Office to address their grotesque failures regarding Jeffrey Epstein, and to finally deliver the transparency and accountability that the victims and the American public deserve."
The FBI declined to comment on the lawsuit, citing its standard practice to not comment on litigation.
In a 2019 lawsuit, Farmer said she first met Epstein and Maxwell when she was an art school graduate in New York and they wanted to support her budding career. She alleged in her complaint that she was "violently sexually assaulted" by Epstein and "co-conspirator" Maxwell while working on an art project at Epstein's Ohio guest house in 1996.
Her sister Annie Farmer also filed a lawsuit in 2019, accusing Maxwell of groping her breasts when she was 16 and alleging the pair had groomed her.
Both lawsuits were withdrawn in 2020 as part of a deal to accept restitution from a victims' compensation fund paid out by Epstein's estate.
Epstein was charged by prosecutors in the Southern District of New York on sex trafficking and conspiracy charges and faced up to 45 years in prison if convicted. He died by suicide inside the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Manhattan in 2019.
Maxwell was convicted on sex trafficking charges and sentenced to 20 years in prison.
In her most recent lawsuit, Farmer shared a 1997 journal entry in which she wrote that she reported Epstein and Maxwell to the FBI. The lawsuit also shared alleged FBI field notes from 2006 that prove Farmer made the report in 1996.
"Those notes reveal that Maria had previously reported Epstein to the NYPD Sixth Precinct, who advised her to contact the FBI," the lawsuit alleged.
Farmer allegedly wrote to the FBI, "U.S. Attorney, and Inspector General," in 2023, asking them to investigate the FBI's negligence, but her request was disregarded and ignored.
The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York and the Justice Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Farmer also claimed that because the FBI did not act, Epstein and Maxwell threatened that if she spoke out again, "they would find out and hurt her and her sisters." This prompted Farmer to move multiple times, sometimes even using a different name to escape the pair.
"As a result of Epstein's and Maxwell's misconduct and the FBI's failures, Maria's health and well-being deteriorated and spiraled downward," the lawsuit said, adding that she's suffered from complex PTSD, depression, anxiety and chronic illness.
Farmer is asking for compensation in an amount determined at trial.
An attorney for Farmer, Jennifer Freeman, said the federal government should be held responsible for what happened to her client and other victims, adding that the U.S. violated the Federal Tort Claims Act, which allows people to sue the government for damages caused by negligence of their employees.
"Had the federal government done their job, hundreds of victims would have been spared," Freeman told NBC News.
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
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