Jeffrey Epstein's former friend Jean-Luc Brunel found hanged in his prison cell
Sat, 19 February 2022, 9:15 pm·6-min read
Ghislaine Maxwell with Jean-Luc Brunel - MEGA
Alleged rape victims of a French former modelling agent and friend of the late Jeffrey Epstein have spoken of their disappointment and devastation after he was found dead in his Paris prison cell on Saturday.
The death of Jean-Luc Brunel, 76, who is alleged to have helped procure “more than a thousand” women on behalf of Epstein and convicted British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell, has angered alleged victims who had hoped to see him tried.
Mr Brunel was found hanging in his cell at la Santé prison in the French capital at 1am on Saturday morning, according to judicial sources. He was being held on charges of raping minors.
Prison wardens said they were unable to resuscitate him after finding his lifeless body during a night patrol.
“On average, there are four to six (patrols) in the district for vulnerable people, the one where Brunel was held. He chose to commit this act between two patrols. First aid couldn't salvage the situation,” Erwan Saoudi, a prison warden union representative, told Le Parisien.
“This shows that the prisoner was determined to go through with it,” he said, adding: "What's for sure is that he was alone at the time (of death)."
Ghislaine Maxwell with Jeffrey Epstein and Jean-Luc Brunel - PA
Police have launched an investigation into the cause of death.
His demise echoes that of Epstein, who killed himself in his Manhattan jail cell in early Aug 2019 while awaiting trial after being accused of sexually assaulting and trafficking dozens of girls. He faced up to 45 years in prison.
Brunel's apparent suicide comes days after Prince Andrew agreed to settle a lawsuit with Virginia Roberts Giuffre accusing him of sex abuse after they met through Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell.
The settlement is thought to come to £12 million.
Ms Guiffre accused Brunel of procuring more than a thousand women and girls for Epstein to sleep with and he had been in jail since December 2020 on charges of sexual harassment and the rape of minors over 15 years old.
Lawyer David Boies arrives with his client Virginia Giuffre - REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton
Police arrested him at Charles-de-Gaulle outside Paris as he tried to board a flight to Dakar, Senegal. He said he was “going on holiday”.
Last June, he was charged once again, this time for drugging and raping a 17-year-old girl at her home in the late 1990s after a night out clubbing. New Zealander Zoe Brock now lives in the US.
He had also been made an “assisted witness” - a status one step short of being charged - over accusations of “aggravated people trafficking causing harm to minor victims in view of sexual exploitation”.
His death will put an end to all legal pursuit in the case unless other people are indicted.
He was the founder of MC2, the model agency, which prosecutors believe was used as as a cover for Epstein's sex trafficking ring.
He started his career as a model scout, and had worked with celebrities including Jerry Hall, Sharon Stone, and Monica Bellucci.
Brunel pictured in 2001 with models - MATRIXPICTURES.CO.UK
A number of former models had waived their anonymity to make their allegations against Mr Brunel public.
Among them is Dutch model, Thysia Huisman, who was 18 when she first stayed with Mr Brunel, said she was raped by him in 1991.
On Saturday, she tweeted:
She is one of at least four alleged victims represented by Anne-Claire Le Jeune, a Paris barrister who said Mr Brunel’s death was a source of “frustration” for her clients.
“I have spoken to two plaintiffs for whom charges had not passed the statutes of limitations - one for rape of minor in 2001 and another for sexual harassment - and can tell you they are devastated at having the prospect of his trial and the recognition of their status as victims stolen from them,” she told the Telegraph.
“We had reached a period in which it was highly likely he would be sent to trial. Things had progressed a lot and we consider this is an act of cowardice as he felt the net was tightening and increasingly damning evidence had been gathered. He quite simply shirked his responsibilities.”
She added: “Epstein and Brunel died in their cells and Prince Andrew has struck a confidentiality deal. All that leaves the impression there are lots of grey areas and it will be hard to get to the truth about this ring.”
"I wouldn’t go as far as conspiracy theories but simply note that certain things have been hushed up, for what reasons I don’t know. We haven’t reached the truth regarding all the protagonists; they have all taken their secrets with them."
Brunel was the target of a wider investigation opened in Aug 2019 looking into Epstein’s associates in France, and any potential offences connected to the scandal.
Former model Thysia Huisman - AP Photo/Peter Dejong
In a 2016 deposition, Ms Guiffre claimed that Epstein and Ms Maxwell sex trafficked her into Mr Brunel’s hands when she was 16.
She also claimed Brunel attacked her on several occasions on Epstein’s private island in the Caribbean.
Speaking to NBC’s “Dateline” last September, Ms Giuffre said Epstein told her he slept with “over a thousand women that Brunel brought in”.
Both Prince Andrew and Brunel have vehemently denied these claims, with the Prince considered a key witness who both the Americans and the French want to interview in person.
Ms Giuffre had urged more witnesses allegedly abused by Mr Brunel to come forward. In a tweet today Ms Giuffre said:
Last September, a group of former models called on French lawmakers to reform the statute of limitations so old cases could be reopened, even if only for a limited period.
The women claim to have been sexually assaulted or raped by their French model agents more than 20 years ago and say “rape should not have an expiration date”.
Prince Andrew has since agreed a civil settlement with Ms Giuffre, thought to be worth some £12million.
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.
Brunel, who denied any wrongdoing, was being held in custody until a criminal trial on a date to be fixed.
