Paris public prosecutor Laure Beccuau announced on 10 September 2026 that 26 victims have been counted in the French inquiry, with 24 formally identified.
French authorities received names of additional potential recruiters following the July 2026 death of modeling scout Daniel Siad.
Thirteen of the 26 identified victims had never appeared in previous case files involving Jean-Luc Brunel or Gérald Marie.
Former model Ebba Karlsson and Innocence en Danger filed a lawsuit in August 2026 accusing the French state of gross negligence over delays in questioning Siad.
French prosecutors are widening their inquiry into the sexual trafficking network connected to late American financier Jeffrey Epstein after identifying several new potential recruiters. Speaking on France Inter on 10 September 2026, Paris public prosecutor Laure Beccuau confirmed that the judiciary is actively pursuing fresh leads across multiple domestic and international jurisdictions. The preliminary inquiry, officially opened on 18 February 2026 on charges of human trafficking following the publication of millions of documents known as the Epstein Files, examines operations that took place in Paris, New York, Cannes, and Saint-Tropez. Investigators are examining potential offenses committed by French nationals as well as crimes committed against victims abroad.
“For us, the Epstein network is a labyrinthine network, and to get out of it, it is not just a single Ariadne's thread that must be pulled, but dozens and dozens of threads, and we do not intend to neglect any of them.”
The Paris prosecutor office has counted a total of 26 victims tied to the French network. Among these individuals, 24 have been formally identified, while eight victims have yet to give formal testimony, partly because several reside abroad. Beccuau stated that 13 of the 26 victims had never appeared in any previous criminal file, including earlier proceedings involving modeling agents Jean-Luc Brunel and Gérald Marie. Investigators from the Central Office for the Repression of Trafficking in Human Beings (OCRTEH) continue conducting interviews, with each session potentially yielding new leads and recruiter names.
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The inquiry faced intense scrutiny following the death of model scout Daniel Siad, who was found dead at his residence near Paris in July 2026 before investigators could interrogate him. Siad had previously denied all allegations in public statements and had requested through the press to present his account to authorities. Following his death, former Swedish model Ebba Karlsson, who had filed a rape complaint against Siad earlier in the year, filed a lawsuit in August 2026 against the French state for gross negligence. The child protection association Innocence en Danger joined the legal action on behalf of potential victims, citing judicial delays in questioning key suspects.
“Some acts date back decades. The people involved are getting older. Every delay has consequences.”
The current case builds upon years of French legal scrutiny directed at figures connected to Epstein, who was convicted in the United States in 2008 for soliciting prostitution from a minor and arrested again in 2019. Documents show that French modeling agent Jean-Luc Brunel connected Epstein to Siad. Brunel was placed under formal investigation in 2020 for rape of minors and sexual harassment before dying in his prison cell in 2022. Separately, investigations into former Elite agency director Gérald Marie were previously dropped due to statutes of limitations, prompting several women to file fresh complaints following the Epstein Files disclosure. Prosecutors reaffirmed that Siad's death will not halt the identification of other network participants.
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Paris public prosecutor Laure Beccuau revealed that investigators have identified 26 victims in the French Epstein inquiry, with newly uncovered recruiter names emerging after the death of suspect Daniel Siad.
AI text based on reports by Der Tagesspiegel, Le Monde.fr, Mediapart and other publishers. Published .