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FBI Knew Of Allegations Against Ghislaine Maxwell As Early As 1996, Accuser Says. It Took 24 Years To Arrest Her
by Mary Margaret Olohan, The Daily Caller:
- The FBI knew about allegations against convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and his ex-girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell at least as early as 2006, possibly as early as 1996, an Epstein accuser says.
- Maxwell was not arrested until Thursday after a grand jury indicted the British socialite and heiress on charges of conspiracy to entice minors to engage in illegal sex acts, conspiracy to transport minors to these illegal sex acts, transportation of a minor to engage in illegal sex acts, and perjury.
- Painter Maria Farmer alleges that she and her sister were sexually abused by Epstein and Maxwell in 1996 when they were minors. Farmer said she reported this abuse to the New York Police Department and the FBI, according to a recent documentary.
The FBI knew about allegations against convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and his ex-girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell as early as 1996, an Epstein accuser says. Maxwell was not arrested until Thursday.
A grand jury indicted the British socialite and heiress on charges of conspiracy to entice minors to engage in illegal sex acts, conspiracy to transport minors for illegal sex acts, transportation of a minor to engage in illegal sex acts, and perjury. She was arrested at 8:30 am Thursday morning in Bradford, New Hampshire. (RELATED: Epstein Crony Ghislaine Maxwell Arrested By The FBI For Alleged Role In Trafficking Minors)
The victims were as young as 14 years old, the indictment said, noting that both Maxwell and Epstein “knew that certain victims were in fact under the age of 18.” The indictment also describes how Maxwell allegedly groomed multiple minors for Epstein, “knowing that he had a sexual preference for underage girls.”
The grand jury indictment also mentions three victims who were allegedly trafficked by Maxwell and Epstein in the mid 1990s.
Heavily redacted documents obtained by the New York Times show that the FBI interviewed two alleged victims in 2006 – victims who allege that Maxwell and Epstein sexually abused them.
According to the two alleged victims, both the FBI and New York Police Department may have known of allegations against Maxwell and Epstein as early as 1996, as highlighted in the Netflix documentary “Jeffrey Epstein: Filthy Rich” and reported by The New York Times.
Ghislaine Maxwell at the 2013 Women: Inspiration and Enterprise Symposium in New York City. (Laura Cavanaugh/Getty Images)
Painter Maria Farmer and her teenage sister Annie both say they were sexually abused by Epstein and Maxwell in 1996 – Maria Farmer at Epstein’s large estate in Ohio and Annie Farmer at his New Mexico ranch, the Times described. Annie Farmer also said she was abused by Epstein on a visit to New York.
Maria Farmer told the Times she contacted both the New York Police Department and the FBI in 1996 about alleged molestation by Maxwell and Epstein. She did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Daily Caller News Foundation, and the Times noted that the FBI has not acknowledged that she contacted them.
Maria Farmer insists they would have record of this contact, since she was contacted by the FBI in 2006 when she lived in North Carolina.
FBI spokeswoman Tina Jagerson referred the DCNF to the bureau’s Thursday press conference and did not address questions about the Farmer sisters or the length of time it took for Maxwell to be arrested. The FBI declined to comment further.
