Back in the summer of 1996, Maria Farmer was a 26-year-old artist who had been commissioned by Jeffrey Epstein to paint two paintings for the movie As Good As It Gets. Epstein offered her a two-month stay at billionaire L Brands founder Les Wexner's 336 acre property in New Albany, Ohio while she worked. Farmer never met Wexner while she stayed at his house, but she spoke with his wife Abigail frequently as she was required to get permission every time she wanted to leave the 10,600 square foot house. Farmer never met Abigail in person, either.
Farmer is alleging that Epstein and his madam Ghislane Maxwell sexually assaulted her and held her at the Ohio estate against her will. Eventually, her father came to get her. In an interview with The New York Post, Farmer says that she holds Wexner responsible for what happened to her because he was allowing Epstein, his close friend and financial adviser, to use the house as a base of operation. Epstein employed a security team that was reportedly instructed to keep her in the house.
(L-R) Les Wexner, Abigail Wexner, and Ed Razek (Photo by Astrid Stawiarz/Getty Images)
Farmer recalls Epstein telling her "Les loves me. He'll let me do anything." Officially, the Wexners have said that they never had any contact with Farmer. They also did not elaborate on Farmer's claim that she was kept prisoner in the New Albany home. However, Farmer had an Ohio driver's license that listed Wexner's estate as her address.
Maria Farmer is one of Epstein's more well-known accusers. She submitted an affidavit detailing her experiences with Epstein and Maxwell that was part of Virginia Giuffre's case against attorney Alan Dershowitz, whom Giuffre says raped her along with Epstein. Farmer's younger sister Annie also alleges that she was assaulted by Epstein and Maxwell. While Farmer was living in Wexner's house, Annie, who was just 15 at the time, was flown to Epstein's ranch in New Mexico, which is where Epstein and Maxwell sexually assaulted her.
Les Wexner deeded the Ohio home, which was next door to Wexner's own home, to Epstein in 1992. It was basically the "guest house" of Wexner's house. Armed guards and dogs monitored the grounds. Farmer wasn't even allowed to run outside. Farmer reports that she wasn't allowed to enter and exit the property via Wexner's gated driveway. She got that Ohio driver's license so she could fetch Epstein and Maxwell from the airport when they visited. When she was assaulted she called 911, was put on hold, and then hung up on. She also called the Franklin County Sheriff's office where she was told "we work for Wexner." Over the 12 hours following her assault she begged the security team at the home to let her leave. They refused.
The Franklin County Sheriff's office claims to have no records of Farmer's 911 call and denied that it happened. After Farmer got back to her Greenwich Village apartment she filed a police report and spoke to the FBI. She never heard back from anyone about either contact until 2006, when Epstein's crimes in Palm Beach were being investigated.
