Model agent held in Epstein sex ring probe
A FRENCH fashion agent who was friends with Jeffrey Epstein has been arrested on suspicion of raping and trafficking girls.
Jean-Luc Brunel, 74, was detained at Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris on Wednesday as he tried to board a flight to Dakar, Senegal.
US prosecutors believe Brunel’s MC2 model agency was used as a cover for sex trafficking.
According to French media reports, he is accused of involvement in an underage sex ring organised by Epstein, who took his own life last year while awaiting trial. It is alleged the agent supplied girls for the US financier’s parties and his arrest puts further pressure on Prince Andrew, who was friends with Epstein but has strenuously denied any involvement in his activities.
Sources in Paris said police were interviewing Brunel about his links with a range of figures including British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell.
Many of his alleged crimes are said to have taken place in an £8million Paris apartment owned by Epstein, where Prince Andrew is also said to have stayed. Epstein victim Virginia Roberts Giuffre said she had ‘sexual relations with Brunel on several occasions’ between the ages of 16 and 1 , according to legal papers filed in the US and France. She has also claimed she was forced to have sex with the prince, allegations he denies.
Brunel’s lawyers insisted he is not guilty of any wrongdoing.
Maxwell has asked to be released on £21.4million bail as she awaits trial on charges of helping Epstein groom girls as young as 14, a US court filing earlier this week revealed.