Jeffrey Epstein's friend Jean-Luc Brunel in prison 'suicide' | Daily Mail Online

Jeffrey Epstein’s French modelling agent friend Jean-Luc Brunel, who allegedly procured more than a thousand women and girls for the paedophile financier to sleep with, died today in an alleged prison suicide.

It comes days after Prince Andrew, 62, agreed to settle Virginia Roberts’s lawsuit accusing him of sex abuse after they met allegedly through Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell.

Roberts accused Brunel, 76, of procuring more than a thousand women and girls for Epstein to sleep with and he was awaiting trial in France for raping minors.

His death in an alleged hanging will fuel conspiracy theories around the Epstein affair after the financier also died in prison while awaiting trial in what authorities concluded was a hanging.

Controversy over Epstein’s death has been fueled by the fact that prison video cameras at Manhattan’s Metropolitan Correction Center were not running at the time Epstein died in the cell he shared with another inmate.

Prosecutors in Paris confirmed Brunel was found hanging in his cell in La Santé, in the south of the capital city, in the early hours of Saturday morning. It is not known whether Brunel was sharing a cell or whether there was any CCTV footage inside. 

‘A night patrol found his lifeless body at about 1am,’ said an investigating source. 'A judicial enquiry has been launched, and early evidence points to suicide.’

It was in December 2020 that Brunel was indicted after two days of interviews by an examining magistrate and specialist police from an anti-paedophilia unit.

He was arrested at the city’s Charles de Gaulle airport on while trying to board a plane to Dakar, Senegal, telling detectives 'I’m going on holiday’. 

Prosecutors in Paris confirmed that Jean-Luc Brunel (pictured), 76, was found hanging in his cell in La Santé, in the south of the capital city, in the early hours of Saturday morning

His death in an alleged hanging will fuel conspiracy theories around the Epstein affair after he also died in prison while awaiting trial in what authorities say was a hanging. Pictured, Brunel with Maxwell and Epstein on a private jet  

Others involved in the ring include Epstein’s ex-girlfriend, the British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell, 59, who is currently in prison in the USA after being found guilty of sex trafficking. Pictured, Brunel with Manwell on Epstein’s private island

A Dutch model, Thysia Huisman, who was 18 when she first stayed with Brunel, said she was raped by him in 1991.

She is now one of at least four alleged victims represented by Anne-Claire Le Jeune, a Paris barrister, who said Brunel being in custody was a huge relief, because their complaints now 'take on meaning,’ she said.

After news of Brunel’s death broke Ms Huidman said she felt disappointed by the 'completely different ending without any real justice for his victims. 

Brunel was suspected of having been part of a global underage sex ring organised by the late American multi-billionaire Epstein, who committed suicide in 2019, while awaiting trial for numerous sex crimes.

Others involved in the ring include Epstein’s ex-girlfriend, the British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell, 59, who is currently in prison in the USA after being found guilty of sex trafficking.

A French judicial enquiry into Brunel’s conduct was opened in August 2019, when prosecutors heard allegations that Brunel and the Queen’s second son Prince Andrew shared a lover.

Virginia Roberts Giuffre, an American, has told lawyers she was employed as a 'sex slave’ when she was forced to sleep with the Duke of York after being trafficked to him at least three times when she was 17.

Almost all of the accusations leveled against Brunel were from the 1970s, 80s and 90s, meaning they fell outside the 20-year limit for prosecuting sex crimes in France.

This meant that Brunel was considered 'untouchable’ by police who nicknamed him 'The Ghost’ as he carried on living and working in the French capital, while frequently traveling abroad on scouting assignments and holidays.

But in November 2020, Giuffre responded to an online English language appeal by French magistrates for alleged victims to come forward.  

Brunel is pictured with models who worked for his agency. The model scout’s name appears frequently in the flight logs kept for Epstein’s private jets and prison records show he visited Epstein 67 times when he was in jail

A French judicial enquiry into Brunel’s conduct was opened in August 2019, when prosecutors heard allegations that Brunel and the Queen’s second son shared a lover. Pictured, Brunel with models he scouted

The Dutch model, Thysia Huisman (pictured), who was 18 when she first stayed with Brunel, said she was raped by him in 1991. Huisman is now one of at least four alleged victims represented by Anne-Claire Le Jeune, a Paris barrister, who said Brunel being in custody was a huge relief, because their complaints now 'take on meaning’

Pictured: Prince Andrew, Virginia and Ghislaine Maxwell at Maxwell’s London flat 

Billionaire paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein’s jail cell suicide: 

Jeffrey Epstein hanged himself inside his New York City jail cell in August 2019.

The billionaire paedophile was found in cardiac arrest shortly before 7am on Saturday, August 10 at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in lower Manhattan. 

He was rushed to nearby New York Downtown Hospital where he was pronounced dead.   

In a statement, Metropolitan Correctional Center told DailyMail.com that the FBI is now launching an investigation into Epstein’s death.  

The former financier, 66, was awaiting trial on charges of conspiracy and sex trafficking and was being held at the high-security complex without bail.  

Epstein - who once boasted an array of high-profile friends including Prince Andrew and President Bill Clinton - was arrested on July 6, accused of arranging to have sex with dozens of underage girls at his residences in New York City and Florida between 2002 and 2005.  

He had pleaded not guilty to the charges.  

Epstein’s suicide comes just two weeks after he was hospitalised following what may have been an initial attempt to take his own life. 

Ms Roberts Giuffre said she had 'sexual relations with Brunel on several occasions’, between the ages of 16 and 19, according to legal papers filed in America and France.

'Ms Giuffre now lives in Australia but responded to the appeal,’ said an investigating source. 'She was interviewed remotely, and provided considerable evidence against Brunel.

'She said that she was raped by Brunel in the early 2000s, including in 2001. This was a considerable breakthrough for the enquiry.’

It meant that the alleged crime was well within the statute of limitations, and therefore prosecutable. 

Officers were set to arrest Brunel in January 2020 following further enquiries, but on December 16 he was intercepted at Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris with a one-way ticket to Dakar, capital of Senegal, in West Africa.

'This led to his immediate arrest and he was placed in custody,’ said the source. 'The multiple rape charges solely relate to the testimony of Virginia Giuffre, and not any of the other alleged rape victims.

'The sexual harassment indictment is nothing to do with the Epstein case, and instead relates to incidents in 2016 following a complaint by another woman who has not gone public.’

The 'multiple rapes’ of Giuffre – now a mother of three who was called Virginia Roberts before her marriage – were said to have mainly taken place at Epstein’s home on the private island of Little Saint James, in the U.S. Virgin Islands. 

Giuffre had produced sworn testimonies saying that both Brunel and Prince Andrew attacked her there.

According to French law, a French citizen such as Brunel can be tried in France for offences committed abroad.

Both Prince Andrew and Brunel vehemently denied these claims, with the Prince considered a key witness who both the Americans and the French wanted to interview in person. 

Prosecutors in Paris confirmed Brunel was found hanging in his cell in La Santé, in the south of the capital city, in the early hours of Saturday morning. Pictured, a cell at the prison

Jeffrey Epstein hanged himself inside his New York City jail cell in August 2019. Pictured, Epstein’s cell after his body was found by prison guards

Allegations made against Jeffrey Epstein’s friend and modelling agent Jean-Luc Brunel 

Modelling agent Jean-Luc Brunel was arrested at the city’s Charles de Gaulle airport on while trying to board a plane to Dakar, Senegal, telling detectives 'I’m going on holiday’.

He was indicted in September 2021 on a single count of rape.

Other allegations against him include: 

Despite vowing to fight the allegations and repeatedly protesting his innocence, the prince has agreed to pay a large sum to settle the case before it ever reaches a jury.  

Reports suggested the Queen herself will provide money to pay for the settlement, according to the Telegraph.

The paper reported the total amount that the victim and her charity will receive will actually exceed £12m, with the funds coming from her private Duchy of Lancaster estate, which recently increased by £1.5m to more than £23m.  

Although the agreement contained no formal admission of liability from Andrew, or an apology, it said he now accepted Miss Roberts was a 'victim of abuse’ and that he regretted his association with Epstein, the disgraced financier who trafficked countless young girls. 

'He has never met Brunel. No ifs, no buts,’ a source close to Andrew told the Royal Observer. 

The rape of a minor is punishable by up to 15 years in prison in France, while aggravated sexual harassment comes with a three-year prison sentence and a fine equivalent to around £40,000.  

Giuffre said Epstein told her he had slept with 'over a thousand women that Brunel brought in’, in an NBC Dateline special that aired in 2019.

Brunel, who denied any wrongdoing, was being held in custody until a criminal trial on a date to be fixed. 

In 2015, Brunel denied involvement 'directly or indirectly’ in any of Epstein’s offences in a statement issued in 2015. It said: 'I strongly deny having committed any illicit act or any wrongdoing in the course of my work.' 

Brunel was also suspected of using his contacts in the fashion industry to provide victims to Epstein and his friends.

He is said to have flown three 12-year-old sisters from a Paris housing estate to America so they could be abused by Epstein as 'a birthday present’.

Virginia Giuffre, 37, (pictured) is now the key witness in the prosecution of Brunel, 75, after claiming that both him and Prince Andrew, 60, used her as their 'sex slave’

Epstein – an old friend of Andrew’s and a business associate of Brunel’s – committed suicide in his prison cell in New York on August 10 2019, while awaiting trial for a range of offences, including trafficking minors for sex, and multiple rapes

Brunel was the founder of MC2, the model agency that prosecutors believe was used as a cover for the sex trafficking ring. The out-of-time evidence against Brunel comes from a number of former models, who – like Giuffre – have waived their anonymity to make their allegations public

It was in December 2020 that Brunel was indicted after two days of interviews by an examining magistrate and specialist police from an anti-paedophilia unit. Pictured, the prison where Brunel was found dead  

Epstein – an old friend and business of associate of Brunel’s – committed suicide in his prison cell in New York on August 10 2019, while awaiting trial for a range of offences, including trafficking minors for sex, and multiple rapes.

Among his alleged victims, it is claimed in court documents, were the 12-year-old triplets from Paris.

Brunel was the founder of MC2, the model agency – one that prosecutors believe was used as as a cover for Epstein’s sex trafficking ring.

Brunel started his career as a model scout, and has worked with celebrities including Jerry Hall, Sharon Stone, and Monica Bellucci.

Corinne Dreyfus-Schmidt, Mr Brunel’s lawyer, has insisted her client is innocent of any wrongdoing.

Evidence against Brunel came from a number of former models, who had waived their anonymity to make their allegations public.

New Zealander Zoe Brock has claimed in statements made to French investigators that she was abused in his Paris home in the early 1990s. 

This content was originally published here.

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