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What did Maria Farmer report to authorities or institutions about Epstein in 2005 and afterward?
Executive summary
Maria Farmer says she first reported sexual assaults by Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell to the NYPD in August 1996 and then to the FBI the same year, and that she repeated those allegations to the FBI again in 2006; her complaints included that Epstein and Maxwell sexually abused her and others and that Epstein had taken nude or partially nude photos of her minor sisters [1] [2] [3]. Reporting over the years also included warnings to law enforcement about Epstein’s circle — Farmer told authorities she urged investigators to look at powerful people in Epstein’s orbit, including Donald Trump [4] [5] [6].
1. The first reports: a terrified artist goes to the NYPD and then the FBI
Maria Farmer has said she went to the New York Police Department’s Sixth Precinct in August 1996 to report that Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell had sexually assaulted her; police records corroborate a visit to the Sixth Precinct in August 1996, and she says police told her to contact the FBI [1] [4]. Multiple outlets report that Farmer told the FBI in 1996 that both Epstein and Maxwell had sexually abused her and others [2] [3].
2. What she said then: assaults, missing photos, and broader warnings
Farmer’s accounts to authorities included that Epstein and Maxwell sexually assaulted her and that Epstein had taken nude or partially nude photos of two of her minor sisters, which she says could amount to child pornography and involved interstate transport of images — allegations she said she made to the FBI in 1996 and again in 2006 [3]. She also reported seeing security rooms and surveillance devices at Epstein’s properties and described a pattern of young women being brought into his homes [7] [1].
3. Follow-up contact in 2006 and agents at her door
Reporting indicates FBI agents visited Farmer’s home in November 2006; she says agents told her they were aware of her 1996 complaint and questioned her again, and contemporaneous FBI field notes from 2006 have been cited in later filings as reflecting that follow-up [2] [3]. Farmer and her lawyers allege the FBI did not pursue a robust investigation after those contacts [8] [9].
4. She named people in Epstein’s social circle — including Trump — to investigators
Farmer has told The New York Times and other outlets that when she spoke to law enforcement in 1996 and 2006 she urged them to investigate people in Epstein’s orbit, and she specifically mentioned an unsettling late‑night encounter with Donald Trump from 1995 as something she raised with the FBI [4] [5] [6]. Reporting notes Farmer said she did not possess direct evidence tying these powerful associates to crimes but said she flagged their presence and interactions with Epstein to investigators [6].
5. Disputed records, requests for files, and lawsuits about federal inaction
News outlets and Farmer’s legal filings say the FBI’s public record release has been incomplete; she and her lawyers have produced a 1997 journal entry and alleged 2006 FBI notes to support that she reported matters earlier, and in 2025 Farmer sued the federal government alleging negligence and a failure to investigate despite her reports [3] [9]. Some reporting underscores that law enforcement files later acknowledged Maxwell’s involvement; advocates argue earlier, stronger action might have prevented subsequent harms [2] [8].
6. Competing interpretations in the record
Media accounts and institutional statements differ on implications. Some outlets and Farmer’s attorneys present her reports as among the earliest law‑enforcement warnings about Epstein and Maxwell, arguing agencies ignored them [1] [8]. Institutional responses — for example, the New York Academy of Art’s later probe into claims about institutional enabling — contested aspects of Farmer’s narrative or context around how the school responded at the time [10]. Available sources do not mention any definitive public law‑enforcement finding that proved or disproved every detail Farmer reported in 1996; instead, later investigations and prosecutions (including Maxwell’s 2021 trial and convictions) have corroborated broad patterns Farmer described [2] [8].
7. What is documented vs. what remains contested
Documented in reporting: Farmer’s 1996 NYPD contact, later FBI interviews (including 2006 field notes cited by journalists and in legal filings), her sworn 2019 affidavit alleging assaults, and her 2025 civil claims against the government [1] [3] [2]. Contested or limited in available reporting: the extent to which early FBI or NYPD activity led to concrete follow‑up prosecutions in the 1990s, and whether Farmer had direct evidence tying specific powerful associates to criminal acts — she told reporters she pointed to names but did not have incriminating evidence [6] [4]. If you want primary documents cited in these articles (e.g., the 2006 FBI notes, complaint numbers), consult the specific reports referenced above for links and document citations [2] [3].
If you want, I can assemble a timeline from the cited pieces showing each reported contact Farmer made to authorities and the specific details she says she provided, with direct citations to the articles above.