Former modeling agency boss Jean-Luc Brunel, who was suspected of supplying underage girls to Jeffrey Epstein, was found hanging in a prison cell Saturday.
French prosecutors confirmed the report of his death and are looking into the cause of it, but it is suspected to be suicide, The Guardian reported.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – JULY 02: Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Audrey Strauss, speaks to the media at a press conference to announce the arrest of Ghislaine Maxwell, the longtime girlfriend and accused accomplice of deceased accused sex-trafficker Jeffrey Epstein on July 02, 2020 in New York City. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
Brunel was a French model scout and modeling agency manager. He was arrested in Paris by French authorities in December 2020, The New York Times reported. He was under investigation for allegations of rape and sexual assault against minors.
Brunel was most well known for being the head of Karin Models and MC2 Model Management. He founded MC2 Model Management with funding from Jeffrey Epstein, The Guardian reported. (RELATED: Prince Andrew Settles Child Sex Assault Lawsuit Out Of Court)
After Brunel’s arrest, Thysia Huisman, a former Dutch model, came forward and said that Brunel raped her as a teen.
“It makes me angry, because I’ve been fighting for years,” Huisman told The Associated Press in regards to Brunel’s death. “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.”
Anne-Claire Le Jeune, a lawyer representing Huisman and other victims, told the AP that it is a “great frustration that the victims won’t get justice.”
As of now, the prosecutors who charged Epstein in New York have declined comment regarding Brunel’s death, according to the AP.