French police have searched the Paris apartment of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and the offices of a model agency belonging to his alleged associate Jean-Luc Brunel, himself accused of rape and of procuring minors for his friend.
He added that he was not able to judge whether any of them were minors. Epstein was arrested on 6 July in New Jersey after returning in his private jet from Paris. He pleaded not guilty to charges of sex trafficking involving dozens of girls as young as 14, but on 10 August was found hanged in his cell. The probe focuses on potential crimes committed against French victims in France and abroad, and on suspects who are French citizens, the Paris prosecutor has said.
Police have appealed for victims and witnesses to come forward. The whereabouts of Brunel, who founded Karin Models in , has been unclear since August. The Frenchman, who now lives mainly in the US and has denied all wrongdoing, has been accused in court documents of rape and procuring minors for Epstein, who at one time counted Bill Clinton, Donald Trump and Prince Andrew among his friends.
Three women have already given evidence to investigators in France. They include a former Dutch model, Thysia Huisman, who has told the Guardian how she was invited to Paris in with the promise that Brunel would make her famous, but subsequently drugged and raped by the model scout in his flat.
She accused the Frenchman of bringing girls as young as 12 to the US and passing them on to his friends. Facebook Twitter Pinterest. Topics Jeffrey Epstein. France Europe news. Reuse this content. Most popular.
