Epstein associate found dead in jail cell

Brunel was under investigation on rape and sex trafficking charges

Jeffrey Epstein’s former business partner and alleged accomplice in trafficking and sexually abusing girls, Jean-Luc Brunel, was found dead Saturday in his French jail cell, according to French authorities.

Brunel’s death eerily resembles Epstein’s death by hanging in a New York prison cell in August 2019 that was ruled a suicide. Brunel, 76, had been arrested in December 2020 and was under investigation on rape and sex trafficking charges.

“It almost seems like the entire ring of people who were doing this that their conscience is getting the better of them now that they are being held accountable for their actions,” said Spencer Kuvin, a lawyer who has represented several of Epstein’s victims. “The alternative conspiracy theory is that it’s like someone is trying to clean up shop.”

Prosecutors in Paris confirmed Brunel was found hanging in his cell in La Sante, in the south Paris, in the early hours of Saturday morning. “I can confirm that Mr. Brunel was discovered at 1:30 a.m. last night dead in his cell. He was alone in the cell. According to the first findings, it is a suicide by hanging. An investigation in search of the causes of death is however opened,” said Antoine Pesme, a spokesperson for the Paris public prosecutor’s office.

British and French media reported that no cameras recorded the alleged suicide at the jail, one of the toughest prisons in France, which has both high security and VIP wings that have housed some of the country’s most infamous prisoners.

Brunel’s death also comes as a New York judge is weighing the release and unsealing of documents that could shed more light on Epstein’s trafficking operation and who was involved. Several people, labelled “John Does,” have fought for years to keep their names redacted from the documents.

Brunel was being held for investigation into allegations that he and others sexually abused and trafficked young women in France over several decades. He was considered a key part of the case, and had reportedly been co-operating with authorities. He had also been speaking to U.S. authorities.

Since Brunel’s arrest, many women came forward to French authorities to report their abuse, including Thysia Huisman, a Dutch former model who said was raped by Brunel as a teen.

“It makes me angry, because I’ve been fighting for years,” Huisman said. “For me, the end of this was to be in court. And now that whole ending — which would help form closure — is taken away from me.”

More than a decade ago, Epstein gave Brunel a $1 million line of credit to start the Miami Beach modelling agency MC2. Brunel, a legendary modelling scout who had worked for decades in New York and Paris, has long been rumoured to have aided and participated in Epstein’s abuse of girls.

Maritza Vasquez, Brunel’s former bookkeeper, told the Miami Herald in 2019 that MC2 wasn’t really a functioning modelling agency, but more a vehicle for steering young women recruited to the agency to parties at Epstein’s mansion in Palm Beach, Fla., and New York.

Brunel’s death comes days after Prince Andrew settled a lawsuit with Epstein victim Virginia Giuffre, who said Prince Andrew had sexually abused her when she was underage at several homes owned by Epstein.

British and French media reported that no cameras recorded the alleged suicide at the jail, one of the toughest prisons in France