Brunel was a well-known Paris model agent whose U.S. agency was backed by Epstein. Giuffre said in a 2016 deposition that she was directed to have sex with him; others accused him of abusing young models over decades. French investigators charged him in December 2020 with raping minors over 15 and sexual harassment, and heard Giuffre in 2021. Brunel denied all of it. [1][2][3]

His death ended the case against him; prosecutors closed the file in 2023 because nobody else had been charged, then in February 2026 began a full re-examination and opened new inquiries to look for accomplices. [1][4]