Model Carre Otis believes arrest of Jeffrey Epstein’s friend on sex charges gives hope to her and other women who say they were raped by Linda Evangelista’s ex-husband

• Jean-Luc Brunel, 74, was arrested by detectives at a Paris airport on Wednesday
• He is suspected of being part of global underage sex ring run by Jeffrey Epstein
• US model Carré Otis said arrest had left her ‘super emotional’ but ‘relieved’
• She claims to have been raped by Gérald Marie, 70, another key figure in the modelling industry
• The arrest give hope to her and other alleged victims of the fashion boss

A model has said the arrest of one of Jeffrey Epstein’s friends on sex assault charges has given her hope for her own fight for justice against her alleged abuser. 

Carré Otis, an American model who has featured on the covers of Vogue and Elle, said she was left ‘super emotional’ but ‘relieved’ following the arrest of Jean-Luc Brunel, a former key player in the modelling world.

The 74-year-old was a former close associate of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, and now faces allegations that he used his position in the fashion industry to rape and sexually assault women, including minors.

He was arrested as he was about to board a flight from Paris’ Charles de Gaulle airport to Senegal on Wednesday, telling detectives ‘I’m going on holiday’. 

Carré Otis, an American model who has featured on the covers of Vogue and Elle, said she was left ‘super emotional’ but ‘relieved’ following the arrest of Jean-Luc Brunel, a former key player in the modelling world

Brunel, 74, was a former close associate of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell (pictured together), and now faces allegations that he used his position in the fashion industry to rape and sexually assault women, including minors

He denies the allegations. 

Responding to the charges, Ms Otis said: ‘We are from an era where this behaviour was blatant. We have all known about perpetrators, there was no hiding their behaviour in any way.

‘We still face a completely unregulated industry where perpetrators are still working, which is appalling.’

The announcement carries meaning for Ms Otis, who says she was raped by another figure in the modelling industry, Gérald Marie, when she was 17 years old and working in Paris.

Marie is the former European head of Elite Models, and was married to supermodel Linda Evangelista for six years.

The announcement carries meaning for Ms Otis, who says she was raped by another figure in the modelling industry, Gérald Marie (pictured in 1992 with then wife Linda Evangelista), when she was 17 years old and working in Paris

Lisa Brinkworth (left), a 53-year-old former BBC journalist, claims he sexually assaulted her in 1998 while she was working undercover to expose sexual crimes in the fashion industry. Jill Dodd, 60, (right) said the women had filed a complaint to try to encourage others to testify against Mr Marie, who heads Oui Management

Three months ago three former models and a BBC journalist asked the French authorities to open an investigation into Marie, alleging that he had raped or sexually assaulted them.

He denied the allegations and no criminal investigation has been opened as a result of their coming forward.

France carries a 20-year statute of limitations period, meaning a number of the accusations in both cases fall outside of what is covered because the alleged events took place in the 1980s and 1990s. 

 Linda Evangelista (pictured) has said she believes the accusations made by women against the model agency boss Gérald Marie de Castellac, with whom she was married for six years

Anne-Claire Le Jeune, a lawyer who represents accusers in both cases, including Ms Otis told the Sunday Times: ‘It is exactly the same scenario as Brunel, originally we are told everything is beyond the statute of limitations, we are not going to investigate facts beyond the statute of limitations.

‘But when the investigators really pursue inquiries, they realise that there are other elements.’

Now 52, Ms Otis works with a non-profit group called the Model Alliance, based in New York, campaigning for better rights for those in the industry. 

Following the announcement of charges against Brunel, Ms Otis pleaded for survivors of sexual assault to contact Model Alliance Support and share their story, saying that she had seen the ‘beginnings of predators being held accountable’. 

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