(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) The late founder of Playboy magazine, Hugh Hefner, reportedly alerted the FBI in 2005 to alleged sexual abuse by Jeffrey Epstein involving a Playboy Playmate, according to a series of new reports.
The alleged victim, then-model Audra Christiansen, has since said that the FBI ignored Hefner’s repeated calls to alert them that she was a survivor of sexual abuse and trafficking at the hands of Epstein.
The alleged sexual abuse, revealed first by journalist Julie K. Brown and reported by NewsNation, was detailed in a 2024 federal lawsuit filed by Christiansen alongside 33 other women against the U.S.
Hugh Hefner reportedly notified the FBI that a Playboy Playmate was sexually abused and trafficked by Jeffrey Epstein and others in his orbit. Court records state Hefner was told by then-Playboy Playmate Audra Christiansen in 2005 that she was an Epstein survivor and requested… pic.twitter.com/lghKjn6fkB
— NewsNation (@NewsNation) August 14, 2026
Christiansen later came forward in a letter to then-Attorney General Pam Bondi.
In an interview with NewsNation, Christiansen said that the FBI told Hefner it would support his claims but never followed through. Worse still, she said the FBI again ignored her pleas in 2020.
“I called again (to the FBI) in 2020 due to threats that were happening to our family. I have never been able to speak to the FBI. I even hired an attorney to speak to them, and they would not meet with her or I. Still nothing from the DOJ or FBI,” she told the outlet.
Hiring an attorney did not help, she added.
“My attorney was blown away; they didn’t want to hear from me,” Christiansen continued.
The former model said many other women were victims of Epstein’s abuse but have remained silent.
“I was not the only playmate that had issues with perpetrators Epstein or otherwise. They are too afraid to step forward, but it was a big deal back then. Hef was trying to keep us all safe,” Christiansen stated.
According to Christiansen, one of the Epstein files released by the DOJ contained an FBI Form 302 documenting one of her allegations against the late sex offender.
She claimed the file was heavily redacted. However, after she sent the letter to Bondi, information from the file was made publicly available, and Christiansen said she believed the disclosure was intentional.
“The timing and the very specific information that was selectively unredacted are difficult for me to view as accidental. Of all the identifying details that could have been released, the fact that I had been a Playboy Playmate was exposed immediately after I publicly spoke out,” Christiansen added.
“That distinction matters because, to my knowledge, I am the only former Playboy Playmate who has publicly come forward as a survivor in connection with this case. Revealing that detail made it significantly easier to identify me, even without publishing my name,” she continued.
Christiansen is one of 34 women suing the U.S. government in the Southern District of Florida.
