Modeling agent who was close to Jeffrey Epstein found dead in French jail

A modeling agent who was close to disgraced U.S. financier Jeffrey Epstein was found dead Saturday in his French jail cell, where he was being held in an investigation into the rape of minors and trafficking of minors for sexual exploitation, according to the Paris prosecutor's office.

Victims of the alleged abuse described shock and dismay that the agent, Jean-Luc Brunel, will never face trial. They described his death as a double blow, after Epstein killed himself in 2019 in a Manhattan jail while awaiting sex-trafficking charges.

Paris police are investigating Brunel's death, the prosecutor's office said. The circumstances of his death were not made public and Brunel's lawyers did not comment on it.