Background
Maria Farmer is an artist who met Epstein through her connections in the New York art world in the mid-1990s. She was employed to help organize an art installation at Epstein’s Manhattan townhouse.
The 1996 Assault
In 1996, Farmer alleged that both Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell sexually assaulted her at the Wexner estate in Ohio. Her younger sister Annie Farmer was also targeted around the same time at Epstein’s Zorro Ranch.
Reporting to the FBI
Maria Farmer reported the assault to the FBI in 1996making her the first person on record to formally report Epstein’s criminal conduct to federal law enforcement. This was approximately nine years before the Palm Beach complaint that eventually triggered the Palm Beach Police investigation.
The FBI’s Response
The FBI took no action on Farmer’s 1996 complaint. Her report was not followed up in any documented way. This failure became a significant point of criticism: had the FBI acted in 1996, Epstein’s trafficking operation could potentially have been stopped before it reached the scale it eventually did.
Later Recognition
Maria Farmer has given extensive media interviews about her experience and her 1996 FBI report. The timeline of institutional failure begins, in part, with her story.
Annie Farmer’s Trial Testimony
Maria’s sister Annie Farmer testified at Maxwell’s 2021 trial under her own name, directly linking Maxwell to the assault at Zorro Ranch. Maria’s own legal actions provided background context.