Modeling agent close to Epstein found dead in French jail

PARIS — A modeling agent who was close to disgraced U.S. financier Jeffrey Epstein was found dead Saturday in his French jail cell, where he was being held in an investigation into the rape and sex trafficking of minors, according to the Paris prosecutor’s office.

Paris police are investigating Jean-Luc Brunel’s death at the historic La Sante prison in Paris, the prosecutor’s office said.

Victims of his alleged abuse described shock and dismay that the 75-year-old, a well-known model scout in the 1980s and 1990s who ran different agencies in Paris and New York, will never face trial.