Epstein ex-associate Jean-Luc Brunel placed under formal investigation - BBC News
Modelling agent Jean-Luc Brunel is accused of rape and sexual harassment by French authorities.
Epstein was awaiting trial on sex-trafficking charges when he was found dead in his cell last year

A former associate of deceased US financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein has been placed under formal investigation and remanded in custody in France on suspicion of sex crimes.

French modelling agent Jean-Luc Brunel is accused of sexual harassment and the rape of minors aged between 15 and 18.

Epstein died in a New York prison last year as he awaited trial over allegations he ran a network using underage girls for sex.

"This is what the victims have been waiting for for many years," said lawyer Anne-Claire Le Jeune, who is representing Mr Brunel's accusers.

Mr Brunel was detained at Paris's Charles de Gaulle airport on Wednesday as he was preparing to board a flight to Senegal.

He co-founded French modelling agency Karin Models in 1977, and MC2 Model Management in the US with funding from Epstein.

US court documents allege that Mr Brunel procured girls for Epstein, flying them from France to the US and promising them modelling contracts.

Virginia Giuffre, one of the main complainants in Epstein's prosecution, also claims to have been forced into sex with Mr Brunel.

Epstein had an apartment on Paris's exclusive Avenue Foch, near the Arc de Triomphe

His arrest is the result of an inquiry by French prosecutors into rape and sexual assault allegations against Epstein, focusing on potential crimes committed against French victims and suspects who are French citizens.

French police last year raided the offices of Karin Models and a flat near the Arc de Triomphe owned by Epstein.

Before his death, Epstein was charged in New York with sex trafficking and conspiracy and was awaiting trial.

He was already a convicted sex offender, having pleaded guilty to prostitution charges involving a minor in Florida in 2008.

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