Epstein ‘pimp’ Jean-Luc Brunel who ‘hanged himself’ once partied with the celebs, discovered models

Before modeling agent Jean-Luc Brunel – long known as billionaire pedophile Jeffrey Epstein’s alleged pimp – was found hanged in a Paris jail cell Saturday, he was known for partying with celebrities and creating some of his own through his agency, according to former business associates.

Epstein’s French modeling agent friend Jean-Luc Brunel, 75, who allegedly procured more than 1,000 women and girls for the pedophile financier to sleep with, died on Saturday in an apparent prison suicide. Epstein himself was found hanging in a Manhattan jail in August 2019 while awaiting child sex charges aged 66.

Brunel was known for his talent at spotting some of the biggest models in fashion history, some of whom transitioned to A-list film careers, the New York Post reported. He was called a ‘brilliant’ talent scout with a ‘great reputation.’

Post sources also described Brunel as a ‘coked-out misogynistic pig from day one,’ noting that he was often nicknamed ‘Jean Cul,’ or ‘Jean the A**.’ 

He’s credited with finding the likes of Sharon Stone, Milla Jovovich, Angie Everhart, Christy Turlington and Monica Bellucci.

Brunel was also often spotted partying with superstars like Jack Nicholson and Leonardo DiCaprio, often in brightly colored clothing and shoes that became a trademark, according to the New York Post. 

Brunel was found hanging in his cell in La Santé, Paris, days after Prince Andrew, 62, agreed to settle Virginia Roberts’s lawsuit accusing him of sex abuse after they allegedly met through Epstein, 66, and Ghislaine Maxwell, 60. 

Brunel’s death in an alleged hanging will fuel conspiracy theories around the Epstein affair after the financier also died in prison while awaiting trial in what authorities concluded was a hanging (Maxwell, Epstein and Brunel pictured together)

Jeffrey Epstein, left, was found hanged in his New York jail cell in August 2019 while his alleged pimp Jean-Luc Brunel was found hanged in his Paris jail cell February 19 

Prosecutors in Paris confirmed Brunel, who is not believed to have been on suicide watch, was found hanging in his cell in Santé, in the south of the capital city, in the early hours of Saturday morning.

He was imprisoned in in the infamous Santé after his arrest at the city’s Charles de Gaulle airport while he was trying to board a plane to Dakar, Senegal, telling detectives ‘I’m going on holiday’ in December 2020.

Brunel was originally indicted and placed in pre-trial detention in December 2020 for the ‘rape of a minor over 15 years old’ and harassing two other women.

He was also suspected of being a ‘pimp’ for Epstein, after becoming a close friend of the billionaire financier.

Brunel had been placed under the intermediate status of assisted witness for acts of ‘human trafficking’ and ‘exploiting minors for the sexual purposes.’

His death has triggered fresh conspiracies over whether he and Epstein were murdered to keep them quiet about powerful friends who also joined in with their alleged child sex abuse, although there is no indication of foul play in either death. 

Brunel is thought to have been alone at the time of his death and there were no cameras to record his final hours, according to an investigating source at La Santé – one of the toughest jails in France.

‘A night patrol found his lifeless body at about 1am,’ said an investigating source. ‘A judicial enquiry has been launched, and early evidence points to suicide.’ 

Brunel had a 40-year history of discovery models, some of whom went on to become A-list actresses

Former model Thysia Huisman, who is among women who have accused Jean-Luc Brunel of rape

Perhaps Brunel’s most famous find is model-turned-A-list actress Sharon Stone

Model Christy Turlington (left) is long thought to have been credited to Brunel

Actress Milla Jovovich is among the discoveries made by Brunel’s agency

Brunel, posing with some of his models from over the years

Following the news of his death, Virginia Roberts said she was ‘disappointed’ that she was not able to face Brunel at a ‘final trial to hold him accountable’ and added that his alleged suicide ‘ends another chapter.’ 

Taking to Twitter following the news of his death on Saturday, she wrote: ‘The suicide of Jean-Luc Brunel, who abused me and countless girls and young women, ends another chapter.

‘I’m disappointed that I wasn’t able to face him in a final trial to hold him accountable, but gratified that I was able to testify in person last year to keep him in prison.’

It was in December 2020 that Brunel was indicted after two days of interviews by an examining magistrate and specialist police from an anti-pedophilia unit. 

While CCTV is commonplace in the corridors and gateways of French prisons, the vast majority of cells are not under video surveillance. This is ensure a degree of privacy, and to make sure that European human rights legislation is not violated. 

Inmates are sometimes known to record events using devices including mobile phones, but Brunel is thought to have been in a single occupancy cell, said the source.

‘There is an investigation going on to confirm all this, but at the moment it looks like he killed himself alone, and it was a routine patrol that found his body hanging,’ he said.

The source added: ‘There were no obvious fears for the prisoner’s health, and he was not on a suicide watch, having already been in prison for many months.’

The official inquiry into Brunel’s sudden death on Saturday being carried out by offices from the 3rd Judicial Police district in Paris. An autopsy was set to be carried out to establish the exact cause of death.

Forensic officers were meanwhile examining the cell where Brunel died. La Santé, which was built in the 19th Century, has housed some of the most dangerous prisoners in recent French history.

There is a so-called ‘VIP section’ where inmates include ‘super terrorist’ and mass killer Carlos the Jackal, whose real name is Ilich Ramírez Sánchez.

Brunel had been placed under the intermediate status of assisted witness for acts of ‘human trafficking’ and ‘exploiting minors for the sexual purposes.’

Epstein – an old friend and business of associate of Brunel’s – committed suicide in his prison cell in New York on August 10, 2019, while awaiting trial for a range of offences, including trafficking minors for sex and multiple rapes. 

Virginia Giuffre (pictured) alleged upon Brunel’s death that he ‘abused’ her and ‘countless girls and young women’

Jean-Luc Brunel is thought to have been alone at the time of his death and there were no cameras to record his final hours, according to an investigating source at La Santé in Paris. Pictured, the prison’s corridor 

Oscar winner Leonardo DiCaprio allegedly partied with Brunel

Hollywood royalty like Jack Nicholson also allegedly spent time with Brunel

Brunel’s lawyers suggested Saturday that he, too, killed himself. In a statement, they described his ‘distress’ at his incarceration and his repeated requests for a provisional release from the prison.

‘Jean-Luc Brunel never stopped declaring his innocence,’ they said. ‘His decision was not guided by guilt, but by a deep sentiment of injustice.’

The lawyers would not further comment on what happened, and it was unclear whether the jail had suicide prevention measures in place.

Brunel’s legal team had repeatedly complained about the conditions of his detention and sought to have him released pending trial.

Many women have identified themselves as victims and spoken to police since the French probe was opened in 2019.

One of them, Thysia Huisman, said the news of Brunel’s death sent her into ‘shock’.

‘It makes me angry, because I’ve been fighting for years,’ Huisman, a Dutch former model who told police she was raped by Brunel as a teenager, told The Associated Press.

‘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.’

For Giuffre and other victims, the news of Brunel’s death was ‘devastating,’ according a statement from her lawyer, Sigrid McCawley.

McCawley said Brunel’s death did not end the search for justice.

‘For the women who have stood up and called for accountability from law enforcement around the world, it is not how these men died, but how they lived, and the damage they caused to so many. The fight to seek truth and justice goes on,’ McCawley said.

A lawyer representing Huisman and other victims, Anne-Claire Lejeune, said other women involved in the case feel the same as Huisman.

‘Great disappointment, great frustration that (the victims) won’t get justice,’ she told The AP.

She expressed doubt that the investigation would lead to a trial because Brunel was so central to the case.

She also voiced concerns that Brunel’s death means his accusers will not get official recognition of their status as victims.

‘To rebuild yourself (after abuse), that is one of the essential steps,’ Ms Huisman said.

She expressed hope that Brunel’s death would not discourage women from continuing to speak out about abuse.

The investigation, along with a growing reckoning in France about sexual misconduct, has ‘freed up women to talk about it’, she said. ‘It’s a difficult step that requires a lot of courage and strength.’

Brunel, 74, co-founded Karin Models in Paris in 1977, turning the modeling agency into one of the most prestigious talent companies in the world.

Brunel, who was also described as a lecherous rogue who preyed on young women, was found hanged by his bedsheets, alone in his cell at Paris’ notorious Santé prison.

Brunel had been in jail being placed under formal investigation in 2020, accused of sexual harassment and the rape of girls aged between 15 and 18 in France.

US prosecutors also alleged that Brunel procured girls for Epstein, flying them from France to the States with the promise they could get modeling contracts. In French modeling circles, he is known as ‘Jean Cul’ or Jean the Ass.

‘He was a coked-out misogynistic pig from day one,’ said an American modeling agency executive who has worked at the top levels of IMG and Ford in Paris for 35 years. ‘He was ridiculously high on coke when I interviewed him and totally despicable. He wanted to hire me but I said no. But some of the girls he got as models — he got them so early and ruined their lives. So tragic.’

Brunel met Epstein through convicted sex-trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell. He later partnered with Epstein in 2004 on MC2 Model Management, which had offices in Miami and New York. The company was disbanded in 2019, the same year he helped start up The Identity Models in New York.

Brunel was born into a wealthy family in Paris two years after the end of World War II. His father was a successful realtor who amassed a sizable fortune.

Brunel’s brother, Arnaud Brunel, is a businessman who is regularly featured in society columns.