Maria Farmer is a fine arts painter who made the first criminal complaint to the NYPD and FBI about Jeffrey Epstein in 1996. Working as an artist in New York City in the mid-1990s, she met Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell who presented themselves as art patrons. Maria introduced her younger sister Annie to them, believing they would mentor both sisters.

In 1996, Maria was offered an artist residency at Leslie Wexner's estate in New Albany, Ohio. During her time there, she alleges that Epstein and Maxwell sexually assaulted her, that Wexner's security detained her for hours, and that Abigail Wexner controlled her movements on the property. After the assault, Maria went to the NYPD and FBI to warn them about Epstein and Maxwell's predatory behavior. Her warnings were not taken seriously, and no charges were filed.

In 2002-2003, Vanity Fair writer Vicky Ward prepared a profile of Epstein that included the Farmer sisters' accounts. However, editor Graydon Carter removed their allegations from the published article. Maria has spoken about how this suppression allowed Epstein to continue abusing victims for many more years.

Following Epstein's 2019 arrest, Maria gave extensive interviews and stated: "I reported this in 1996. They had almost a decade to stop him, and they didn't. How many girls could have been saved if they had listened to me?" Maria's 1996 report represents the earliest known attempt by a victim to warn law enforcement about Epstein's predatory behavior.

Sources

Maria Farmer affidavits; The New York Times (2019); ABC News (2019); Netflix "Jeffrey Epstein: Filthy Rich"