Hugh Hefner tried to warn the FBI: Jeffrey Epstein raped a Playboy model

Court documents reveal that Hugh Hefner called the FBI in 2005 to report allegations of rape and sex trafficking against Jeffrey Epstein, on behalf of Playboy model Audra Lynn Christiansen. The FBI did not investigate the information for about 15 years, and only in 2020 did an agency official contact her. The claim is part of a broader lawsuit by dozens of women against the U.S. government.

Court documents reveal that Hugh Hefner, the founder of Playboy, repeatedly called the FBI as early as 2005 in an attempt to report allegations of rape and sex trafficking against Jeffrey Epstein. The call was made on behalf of Audra Lynn Christiansen, a Playboy model who was chosen as Playmate of the Month for October 2003, who told Hefner that Epstein raped and trafficked her, and asked him to contact the authorities on her behalf. According to the lawsuit, Hefner called the FBI 'several times' to report Epstein. However, Christiansen claims that the FBI did not contact her for about 15 years, and only in October 2020 did an FBI official reach out to her. The claim is part of a broader lawsuit filed by dozens of women against the U.S. government, accusing the FBI of a persistent failure to investigate reports of sexual abuse by Epstein. The U.S. government has asked to dismiss the lawsuit, and the legal process is still ongoing. Christiansen claims that even after 2020, she had difficulty contacting the FBI, and that an identifying detail about her was exposed in FBI documents. The article notes that the allegations against Hefner himself, which arose in the documentary series 'The Secrets of Playboy', never reached a court.