Overview
- A joint investigation by NDR, WDR and Süddeutsche Zeitung published Tuesday identified 19 European women in U.S. Department of Justice files as having been routed to Epstein by alleged model scouts.
- Investigators say the scouts worked across Europe and Central Asia, promising modelling work, forwarding photos with ages and nationalities to Epstein, and arranging Skype calls or meetings that led to abuse.
- French agent Jean‑Luc Brunel is named repeatedly in the files as a recruiter; he was arrested in 2020 on sex‑abuse allegations and found dead in custody in 2022.
- Paris prosecutors say roughly 20 victims have contacted their office and are being heard, but cross‑border evidence gathering and prosecutions remain incomplete and no French suspect has yet been fully questioned.
- Journalists say poor redactions in the released DOJ files exposed some names but point to a much larger hidden number of European and Russian victims, complicating legal accountability and deepening survivors’ need for recognition and support.