Playboy founder Hugh Hefner repeatedly contacted the FBI on behalf of a model who alleged that Jeffrey Epstein had raped and trafficked her, but the agency did not contact her until 15 years later, the New York Post has reported.

According to a lawsuit filed against the US government by 32 of Epstein’s alleged victims and cited by the Post, former Playmate Audra Lynn Christiansen sought Hefner’s help in 2005 after telling him about the alleged abuse. Despite his repeated calls to the FBI, investigators did not contact her until 2020 – a year after Epstein’s death.

Christiansen also alleged that she had been trafficked to Macau casino billionaire Stanley Ho, known as China’s ‘Godfather of Gambling’, who died in 2020. She reportedly asked Hefner to approach the authorities on her behalf because she believed his law enforcement connections and “clout” would ensure her allegations were taken seriously.

Jordan Merson, an attorney representing the alleged victims, told the Post that the FBI’s attempts to use procedural technicalities to avoid accountability for its alleged failure to properly investigate Epstein for years were “deeply concerning.”

In June, the FBI sought to have the lawsuit dismissed, arguing that the agency was not legally required to investigate every complaint it received. The case remains pending.

Epstein was arrested in July 2019 on federal charges of sex trafficking minors and died in custody less than a month later, before standing trial. He had previously pleaded guilty in 2008 to soliciting prostitution from a minor and served 13 months under a controversial agreement with prosecutors.

Earlier this year, the US Justice Department released more than 3 million pages of documents related to Epstein. The files mentioned more than 300 people, including Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, former US President Bill Clinton, Mick Jagger, and Kevin Spacey. Many appeared only in correspondence or news reports, and being named in the files does not in itself indicate wrongdoing.

Hefner himself faced posthumous allegations of sexual abuse and coercion in the 2022 documentary series ‘Secrets of Playboy’, five years after his death. Women featured in the series alleged that they had been coerced into sex and drugged.

The allegations were never tested in court. Hundreds of women, including Hefner’s former girlfriends and employees, as well as Playboy models and ‘Bunnies’ who worked at its clubs and other properties, later signed an open letter defending him.