Jean-Luc Brunel

Jean-Luc Brunel
Brunel in 2001
Born
Jean-Luc Didier Henri Brunel

(1946-09-18)18 September 1946
Neuilly-sur-Seine, France
Died19 February 2022(2022-02-19) (aged 75)
La Santé Prison, Paris, France
Cause of deathSuicide by hanging
NationalityFrench
Other names"Le fantôme" (lit. 'The ghost')
OccupationModel scout
Years active1970s–2019
Known forFormer head of Karin Models and MC2 Model Management

Jean-Luc Didier Henri Brunel (French pronunciation: [ʒɑ̃ lyk didje ɑ̃ʁi bʁynɛl]; 18 September 1946 – 19 February 2022) was a French model scout. He gained prominence by leading the international modelling agency Karin Models, and founded MC2 Model Management, with financing by Jeffrey Epstein.[1] The subject of a 60 Minutes investigation in 1988, Brunel faced allegations of sexual assault spanning three decades.[2][3]

Brunel came under scrutiny for his ties to Epstein, with whom he worked from the early 2000s to 2015.[4] Brunel was accused of grooming young females and of partaking in the alleged sex trafficking ring run by Epstein.[5] In 2019, French National Police launched an investigation on Brunel after he went into hiding following Epstein's death.[5] He was arrested on 16 December 2020, and charged with the rape of minors by French prosecutors.[6] However, he died from an apparent suicide before his trial could proceed.[7]

  1. ^ Sarnoff, Conchita (22 July 2010). "Jeffrey Epstein Pedophile Billionaire and His Sex Den". The Daily Beast. Retrieved 21 March 2020.
  2. ^ Cobbe, Elaine (18 October 2019). "Ex-model accuses Jeffrey Epstein's friend of rape". CBS News. Retrieved 22 March 2020.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference :2 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Swaine, Jon; Henley, Jon; Osborne, Lucy (17 August 2019). "Jean-Luc Brunel: three former models say they were sexually assaulted by Jeffrey Epstein friend". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 21 March 2020.
  5. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference :5 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Ing, Nancy; van Hagen, Isobel (19 December 2020). "French modeling agent charged with rape of a minor in Jeffrey Epstein probe". NBC News. Retrieved 23 December 2020.
  7. ^ "Jean-Luc Brunel: Epstein associate found dead in Paris prison cell". BBC News. 20 February 2022. Retrieved 25 February 2022.