The release of tens of thousands of files from investigations into deceased sex offender Jeffrey Epstein has confirmed that a former employee warned the FBI in 1996 that he was seeking child pornography, a decade before the agency investigated the financier.
Maria Farmer, who accused Epstein and his associate Ghislaine Maxwell of sexual assault, told The New York Times: "I've waited 30 years." The document reveals Farmer warned in 1996 that Epstein stole photos of her 12- and 16-year-old sisters, including nude images, and may have sold them.
Farmer also claimed in the complaint that Epstein requested she take photos of young girls at swimming pools and threatened to burn down her house if she told anyone. The FBI did not begin investigating Epstein until 2006.
Farmer filed a lawsuit against the FBI in May, alleging it did "absolutely nothing" to stop Epstein. She also claims she encountered Donald Trump in Epstein's Manhattan office in 1995, but the White House denied this, stating Trump kicked Epstein out of his club.
The heavily redacted tranche of materials was released Friday, with more documents expected in the coming weeks. The Trump administration initially resisted the release but later signed a bill authorising disclosures.
