A former Playboy Playmate has filed a lawsuit alleging that the FBI ignored her reports about convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein for 15 years, despite repeated attempts to bring the allegations to the attention of federal authorities. The claim, detailed in court documents, centers around Audra Christiansen, a former Playmate who alleges she was sexually abused and trafficked by Epstein beginning in 2005. According to the legal complaint, Christiansen informed Playboy founder Hugh Hefner about the abuse, prompting him to contact the FBI multiple times. Despite these efforts, the FBI allegedly failed to act on her allegations until October 2020, nearly 15 years later. Christiansen, now 46, described how she was “naked and raped by Epstein” shortly after meeting him and subsequently became part of his trafficking network for approximately 10 years. She claimed that her initial report to the FBI was altered to include a uniquely identifying detail about her, which she discovered only after making her first public statement alongside other survivors. It took over three months and assistance from Reuters to get the report re-redacted, following unsuccessful attempts to contact congressmen, state officials, and attorneys. The lawsuit asserts that the FBI violated mandatory policies and protocols requiring it to investigate claims of child sexual abuse and trafficking. The complaint notes that by failing to investigate credible tips like Christiansen's, the FBI created a foreseeable risk to future victims of Epstein's sex trafficking enterprise, including the plaintiffs in the case. This follows similar allegations from Maria Farmer, who in 1996 submitted the earliest known criminal complaint to the FBI regarding Epstein’s conduct. Farmer’s report was allegedly met with indifference, as the FBI “hung up” on her during the call. Further, the lawsuit highlights that JPMorgan Chase Bank flagged suspicious transactions linked to Epstein’s trafficking operations between 2006 and 2008, which the FBI allegedly ignored. The Justice Department’s Office of Professional Responsibility previously criticized the original 2008 U.S. Attorney for exercising poor judgment. Neither Christiansen’s nor Farmer’s lawsuits appear in the Justice Department’s official court records list related to Epstein’s case, raising questions about transparency and accountability. The allegations come amid ongoing scrutiny of the Justice Department’s handling of the Epstein case. The FBI is already facing a separate lawsuit for allegedly ignoring tips dating back to Farmer’s 1996 report, and federal prosecutors are attempting to dismiss that suit on procedural grounds. Meanwhile, the department continues processing the release of millions of pages of Epstein-related files under the Epstein Files Transparency Act. Separately, President Donald Trump has used the recent decline in violent crime as a key talking point in his campaign. He cited data from the FBI’s Uniform Crime Report, which showed a record decrease in violent crime in 2025. Trump claimed that the nation saw 3,100 fewer murders, 10,000 fewer rapes, and one million fewer assaults, burglaries, robberies, and thefts compared to 2024. He emphasized that the homicide rate continued to fall, with a 23% decrease in murders and a 20% drop in robberies in early 2026. Data from the Council on Criminal Justice supports this trend, noting a 18% drop in reported homicides in the first half of 2026 compared to the same period in 2025. In addition to the crime statistics, Trump highlighted the increase in federal law enforcement actions since his return to office, citing 1.2 million arrests and a 50% rise in federal criminal prosecutions. FBI Director Kash Patel noted that the 2025 murder rate of 4.1 per 100,000 residents was among the lowest since the FBI began tracking such data in 1936. While property crimes also declined, the report noted a 13.8% increase in assaults on law enforcement officers, with 90,178 incidents recorded, a 10-year high.
★
Keep the news honest.
ObjectiveNews is reader-funded and ad-free — we show you the bias instead of hiding it. Support independent journalism for €4/month.
Become a Supporter
United States
