Jean-Luc Brunel, 76, who was on remand in Paris over alleged attacks on Virginia Giuffre, was found dead in his cell in La Santé jail this morning. The woman said she is glad he was in prison
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Prince Andrew’s sex accuser Virginia Giuffre tonight said she was “disappointed” by the death of a model agency boss she said abused her.
Jean-Luc Brunel, 76, who was on remand in Paris over alleged attacks on Ms Giuffre, was found dead in his cell in La Santé jail this morning.
He was a friend of pedophile Jeffrey Epstein. On Twitter, Ms Giuffre wrote: “The suicide of Jean-Luc Brunel, who abused me and countless girls and young women, ends another chapter.
“I’m disappointed I wasn’t able to face him in a trial to hold him accountable, but gratified that I was able to testify in person last year to keep him in prison.”
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The discovery of Brunel’s body came just days after Ms Giuffre, 38, agreed a court settlement with Andrew over claims he abused her three times when she was 17. The settlement is believed to be worth £12million. Andrew denies any wrongdoing.
A prison source told the Sunday People a night patrol found Brunel’s “lifeless body at about 1am”.
They added: “It is suspected he committed suicide by hanging.”
His death has eerie echoes of that of Epstein, who was found hanging in a New York cell in 2019 while awaiting trial for numerous sex crimes.
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It is likely to provoke conspiracy theories Brunel may have been killed to stop him implying high-profile abusers. Ms Giuffre alleged Brunel had “sexual relations” with her “several” times” when she was aged 16 and 19. She also accused him of procuring “more than 1,000 women” and girls for Epstein.
Other members of Epstein’s ring include British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell, 59, who was found guilty of sex trafficking last month.
Maxwell’s brother Ian said Brunel’s death had left him “fearing for her safety” at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, New York, where she is being held. He said: “Another death by hanging in a high-security prison… my reaction is total shock and bewilderment.” Mr Maxwell, who insisted his sister is not suicidal, added: “She was deemed a suicide risk and they are waking her every 15 minutes.
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“It’s a complete violation of prisoner rights and human rights.”
Brunel was indicated after two days of interviews by specialist police from an anti-paedophile unit in December 2020.
He was arrested at Charles de Gaulle airport while trying to fly to Senegal.
A French judicial inquiry into his conduct had been opened in August 2019, when prosecutors heard allegations he abused Ms Giuffre.
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Brunel, who founded model agency MC2, was also suspected of using his contacts in the fashion industry to procure girls for Epstein and his friends.
At least four alleged victims accused him of sex abuse. He also faced allegations of rape and sexual harassment.
It was claimed that on one occasion, he flew three 12-year-old sisters from
a Paris estate to America as “a birthday gift” for disgraced financier Epstein, with whom Brunel also founded a US model management company.
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