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- Jean-Luc Brunel, one of Jeffrey Epstein’s close associates and a modeling agent, has been arrested in Paris in connection with an investigation into sex trafficking, according to the Daily Beast.
- French and US authorities have separately opened investigations into Brunel since Epstein’s death, but Wednesday’s arrest as he attempted to board a flight to Senegal marked a big development for dozens of sexual assault survivors who have accused Brunel of sexual crimes against minors.
- Brunel has largely stayed out of the public eye in recent years, and some of his victims believe the aborted flight to Senegal was an attempt to flee French extradition for his alleged crimes.
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French modeling agency mogul and long-time Jeffrey Epstein associate Jean-Luc Brunel has been taken into custody in Paris while attempting to board a flight to Dakar, Senegal, according to a new report from The Daily Beast.
According to CNN, Paris prosecutors took Brunel into custody on “counts of rape and sexual assault, rape and sexual assault on a minor under 15, rape and sexual assault on a minor over 15, sexual harassment, criminal associations and human trafficking to the detriment of minor victims for the purposes of sexual exploitation.”
A probe into Brunel was announced by French authorities in 2019, in order to uncover connections to Epstein. Thus far, Brunel has not been formally charged with any crimes.
According to the Miami Herald, Brunel’s public relationship with late sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein stemmed back decades, with Brunel’s name appearing on Epstein’s flight logs more than 25 times. When Epstein was sentenced to 13 months in jail in 2008 after pleading guilty to solicitation of a minor, Brunel visited him in prison nearly 60 times.
Brunel also frequently visited Epstein at his Palm Beach home. Call logs from the home include one message in which Brunel reportedly said, “just did a good one-18 years,” and another where he informed Epstein “he has a teacher for you to teach how to speak Russian … She is 2×8 years old not blonde. Lessons are free, and you can have 1st today if you call.”
Brunel rose to prominence in the 1980s, when he and several associates founded Next Model Management and later MC2 Management, where he represented several well-known models, including Christy Turlington and Milla Jovovich. He was first accused of impropriety in 1988, when several models came forward during a "60 Minutes" expose to accuse Brunel of inappropriate behavior, including rape.
In August 2019, French and American prosecutors sought to levy charges against Brunel, following Epstein's death. US prosecutors are investigating Brunel on charges of rape and procuring young girls for Epstein, though no formal charges have been laid. At the same time, French authorities launched a separate inquiry, which preceded Wednesday's arrest.
Dutch former model Thysia Huisman, who accused Brunel of raping her, was stunned by Wednesday's arrest.
"It's incredible. I didn't expect it all," Huisman told The Daily Beast. Huisman reported Brunel to Paris authorities after Epstein's arrest, and Brunel became a person of interest in the US as well as France.
"Brunel raped me in 1991. He drugged me and raped me, and I never came forward as I was ashamed," she told the Beast. "But I reported it in the hopes other women would come forward, and then 11 other women came forward, but they were all past the statute of limitations."
"The victims have long awaited the arrest of Jean-Luc Brunel," Anne-Claire Lejeune, a French lawyer representing Brunel's alleged victims, told the Beast. They welcome this custody with relief and confidence in the legal consequences that will be given. Their word finally takes on a meaning."
Brunel has largely stayed silent on the charges, and last year his legal team said he would answer questions about his relationship with Epstein, but his lawyers also denied that he was on the run, and denied allegations of sexual harassment. In 2015, Brunel launched a lawsuit against Epstein, claiming that his public association with the financier had had an adverse effect on his reputation.
Brunel also denied doing business with Epstein, but court documents reported on by the Miami Herald in 2019 showed that Brunel and Epstein's personal and professional relationships were deeply intertwined over several decades.
According to the Beast, The DOJ officially declined to comment on whether they are investigating Brunel in their ongoing Epstein case, which includes associates like Ghislaine Maxwell.