Epstein accuser holds billionaire Wexner responsible for sexual assault
Maria Farmer says she was abused on property guarded by sheriff’s deputies who were employed by the longtime chief executive of Victoria’s Secret
A woman who says she was sexually abused by Jeffrey Epstein holds billionaire Les Wexner responsible, saying the assault happened on a property belonging to the CEO of Victoria’s Secret parent company.
Epstein was arrested in July on federal sex-trafficking charges, drawing new attention to allegations he had sexually exploited women and girls. He killed himself in jail in August while awaiting trial.
Maria Farmer told The Washington Post that she holds Wexner “responsible for what happened to me” in 1996, as the alleged assault happened on a property owned by the billionaire and “monitored by Wexner’s wife, Abigail, and the Wexner security team.”
Farmer said she was hired to paint two pieces of artwork for the movie “As Good As it Gets,” and Epstein suggested she complete the work on the Wexners’ Ohio estate, which was “guarded in part by sheriff’s deputies employed by the longtime chief executive of Victoria’s Secret.”
It was there that Farmer says she was assaulted by Epstein and his longtime associate Ghislaine Maxwell. Farmer, who was 26 at the time, says she was held against her will at the estate after the assault until her father came to collect her.
Farmer’s mother, father, sister and a friend all said they heard similar accounts from her around the time of the incident.
The house was owned by Epstein but was “effectively the guesthouse” for the Wexner estate and was guarded by the family’s security staff, an officer involved with Wexner security at the time told the Washington Post on condition of anonymity.
“Anybody that was going to be coming on property had to be announced and allowed in by the Wexners,” said the officer. “Nobody had carte blanche to go in and off the property.” The Wexner’s spokesperson said Epstein’s home was one of hundreds of homes in a community developed by Wexner.
“The Epstein house was not on land owned by the Wexners, and was nearly one half mile away from the Wexner home,” the spokesperson said. “The entrance to the Epstein residence was not through the Wexner gate.”
The Wexners deny knowing Farmer and she herself says she never met Les Wexner, but says she spoke on the phone with his wife, who she says controlled her movements.
Farmer told the Washington Post she was informed there were armed guards watching the house.
“Whenever I wanted to exit the guesthouse, I’d have to call the main house and get Abigail on the phone to ask her permission to go outside,” Farmer said.
Wexner has said he completely severed ties with Epstein nearly 12 years ago. Epstein started managing Wexner’s money in the late 1980s and helped straighten out the finances for a real estate development backed by Wexner in a wealthy Columbus suburb.
It was through Wexner that Epstein acquired his Manhattan mansion, a seven-story, 21,000-square-foot former prep school less than a block from Central Park.
Wexner sold his entire interest through which he owned the home to an entity owned by Epstein in 1998. The home, located across the street from the Frick Collection and a residence owned by Bill Cosby, has been valued at approximately $77 million. It’s considered one of the largest single residences in Manhattan.
Wexner publicly accused Epstein of misappropriating “vast sums” of his fortune after Epstein was charged by federal authorities this summer. He didn’t offer details on the alleged thefts.
Last month Wexner said he was “embarrassed” by his former ties with Epstein.
Being taken advantage of by someone “so sick, so cunning, so depraved is something that I’m embarrassed that I was even close to,” Wexner said, according to a recording of his opening address at the company’s annual investor day in Columbus, Ohio. “But that is in the past.”
