Epstein files release leaves survivors with more questions than answers, even as a 1996 complaint surfaces

Epstein files release leaves survivors with more questions than answers, even as a 1996 complaint surfaces

The US Justice Department’s partial release of its files related to Jeffrey Epstein on Friday marked a major moment for some survivors, but it also left many others frustrated as they tried to search for information about their own cases. Multiple sources close to survivors told CNN that they struggled to navigate the Justice Department’s public “Epstein Library,” describing disappointment after waiting for 30 days since the passage of the Epstein Files Transparency Act for the chance to find validating records about their experiences. With the online search system described as challenging, sources said survivors had not had much luck in locating information tied to their years-old experiences.

The CNN report says the Justice Department’s partial release included an FBI document with a 1996 description of a criminal complaint against Epstein related to child pornography. While the name of the complainant is redacted, Maria Farmer’s lawyer, Jennifer Freeman, confirmed to CNN that the complaint was made by Farmer.

The “facts of complaint” section of the document says the woman, who describes herself as a professional artist, had taken photos of her underage sisters for her own personal artwork. The document says Epstein stole the photos and negatives and is believed to have sold the pictures to potential buyers. It says Epstein at one time requested that she take pictures of young girls at swimming pools, and it says he threatened her that if she told anyone about the photos he would burn her house down.

For Farmer and her sister Annie, the release represented what CNN describes as “a moment of triumph,” because they have said for years that Maria filed one of the first complaints against Epstein in the 1990s.

Hours after the release, CNN reported it was not clear whether Farmer’s experience would end up being an exception in the broader world of Epstein survivors. The report says survivors and people close to them expressed frustration while trying to locate records connected to their own abuse and interactions with investigators.

Epstein survivor Jess Michaels told CNN she spent hours trying to find her victim statement and communications she had after calling the FBI tip line. “I can’t find any of those,” she said, adding, “Is this the best that the government can do? Even an act of Congress isn’t getting us justice.”

Freeman, Farmer’s lawyer, said she was still searching for more information in the files, including what authorities did in response to Farmer’s complaint, and when and why. “Why didn’t they act to stop this?” Freeman said in an email to CNN. CNN said it reached out to the FBI for comment.

The CNN story says the complaint, stamped September 3, 1996, underscores that Epstein had been on law enforcement’s radar years before federal and state charges were brought against him in New York and Florida.

In a statement provided by the law firm representing Maria Farmer, the CNN report says Farmer stated that the FBI had “failed” her and other victims over the years.

Annie Farmer told CNN’s Jake Tapper that seeing the document in writing was emotional, saying that it showed authorities had the document “this entire time.” She also raised the question of how many people were harmed after that date.

The CNN report frames the moment as both validating and unfinished: validating for a survivor whose account has now been supported by a released FBI document, but unfinished because survivors still do not know what authorities did in response, and many say they cannot find their own records in the system they were promised would provide answers.