Jeffrey Epstein accuser Maria Farmer filed a lawsuit against the federal government Thursday, alleging that it failed to protect her and other victims of the convicted sex offender and Ghislaine Maxwell.
The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, accuses the Justice Department, U.S. Attorney’s Offices, and the FBI of negligence and negligent infliction of emotional distress.
According to the lawsuit, Farmer first reported to the FBI that she was sexually assaulted by the pair in 1996 and warned that they “had committed multiple serious sex crimes” against girls, including her minor sister.
Farmer also allegedly told the FBI that Epstein stole nude and partially nude photos of two of her minor sisters who he transported across state lines and that he and others engaged in “possession, production, and distribution of sexually lascivious or exploitative images of children,” which could constitute child pornography.
An attorney for Farmer, Jennifer Freeman, said the federal government should be held responsible for what happened to her client and other victims, adding that the U.S. violated the Federal Tort Claims Act, which allows people to sue the government for damages caused by negligence of their employees.
“Had the federal government done their job, hundreds of victims would have been spared,” Freeman told NBC News.
