He particularly targeted young women, promising them a career as models. At least five people are said to have recruited young women in Europe on behalf of Jeffrey Epstein, posing as model scouts. Some of these girls were later allegedly abused. By analyzing Epstein's files released by the US Department of Justice, as well as other documents, the German public broadcasters NDR and WDR and the Süddeutsche Zeitung newspaper were able to identify 19 European women who apparently met Epstein in this way.
Dozens of other cases from Europe and Russia could not be reliably verified due to incomplete documentation. It is also assumed that there are a large number of unreported cases.
Search across Europe
The files and subsequent investigations reveal a consistent pattern of deception, addiction, and sexual exploitation: Epstein's model scouts sought out young, attractive girls across Europe, who they approached directly, promising them successful modeling careers.
They then sent their photos to scouts, who then forwarded them to Epstein – often stating their nationality and age. If he liked the photos, an initial meeting would usually be arranged via Skype or at one of Epstein's residences.
That approach also proved disastrous for Mara (name changed). She is one of the young women who German journalists were able to identify thanks to the US Department of Justice’s insufficient redaction of Epstein’s files. Mara, who is originally from Eastern Europe, said that in the mid-2000s, when she was in her early twenties, a man approached her at a nail salon in Spain. He introduced himself as Daniel S. He complimented her and talked about his connections in the fashion industry. “When I heard that, I was, of course, completely delighted, because I had always wanted to be a fashion model,” Mara recalls.
Epstein files: 1.800 results
A search for the full name Daniel S. in Epstein's files yields more than 1.800 results. He is a Swedish citizen, reportedly living in France. Between 2005 and 2019, he sent Epstein photos of at least 52 girls – mostly European.
Most of the women were between 18 and 23 years old, and at least one of them was a minor at the time. Epstein had been a convicted sex offender since 2008. The records do not clearly show how many of the girls S. offered ended up having contact with Epstein.
Daniel S. also set up the connection between Epstein and Mara. After an initial Skype conversation, Epstein arranged a flight for her to visit him in Florida and arranged for her visa. Mara says she still believed at the time that it was an interview for a modeling job.
Mara describes repeated sexual abuse
That changed, however, when she met Epstein in person. “He said maybe modeling wasn’t the right path after all and that he could help me in other ways,” Mara said in an interview. Epstein offered her a job as his assistant. What followed, Mara describes, was repeated sexual abuse and a nearly two-year relationship of dependency. Daniel S. and his lawyer did not respond to questions about it.
New York lawyer Arik Fudali, who represents 11 of Epstein's victims, is also convinced that Epstein exploited their dreams of the catwalk for his own purposes. He describes Epstein as a "master manipulator": "He was very skilled at recognizing vulnerabilities or weaknesses in his victims (...) and he used that to control them and force them to do whatever he demanded."
In a video on the X platform, Daniel S. denies any wrongdoing. He claims to work as a professional model scout and that he only gave Epstein contacts of girls who wanted to become models or photo models. He claims that he was not aware of Epstein's criminal activities at the time. His statement was later deleted, but he repeated it in the French media. The German media, NDR, WDR and Süddeutsche Zeitung, did not receive an answer from him or his lawyer to the questions they forwarded to them.
Four more people identified
In addition to Daniel S., German journalists have identified four other people from the fashion industry who allegedly recruited young women from Europe for Epstein. This includes French modeling agent Jean-Luc Brunel, who has himself been repeatedly accused of abuse since the 1980s.
Arik Fudali told reporters about the case of his client Rosa, who Brunel allegedly hired for Epstein in 2009, when she was 18. According to her testimony, Epstein abused her more than 50 times over the next 22 months. “Jean-Luc Brunel told her that she could go to the United States and become a model. Of course, she was thrilled with the idea,” Fudali said. “It was simply a method to deceive her, to awaken her hopes and dreams, and then to control her,” the lawyer said.
Verdict 2008
Epstein was sentenced to 18 months in prison in the US in 2008, among other charges, for soliciting a minor into prostitution. He served less than 13 months of his sentence. He then spent a year under house arrest – which, according to Fudali, did not prevent him from allegedly abusing Rosa during that time. Epstein was arrested again in 2019. Shortly afterwards, he reportedly took his own life. The US Department of Justice estimates that there were more than a thousand victims of his criminal network.
The Paris public prosecutor's office opened an investigation into Jean-Luc Brunel in connection with the Epstein case in 2019. In addition to allegations of rape and sexual assault, the investigation also focused on suspicions that he recruited young girls and women for Epstein. The modeling agent took his own life in prison in 2022, before the trial could begin.
In an interview with German media, Brunel's longtime lawyer, Marianne Abgral, denies all the allegations against him. She says her client recruited models to work for her agency. Accusations that he personally recruited girls and women for Epstein were, she says, legally untenable. He has also repeatedly denied the rape allegations. He claims he only introduced Rosa to Epstein during a photo shoot. Her client, the lawyer says, was unaware that Epstein was sexually abusing her.
Special investigation units
Following the 20-year prison sentence handed down to Epstein's accomplice, Gillian Maxwell, in 2022, no further criminal proceedings have been brought in the United States against other possible accomplices. Following the release of Epstein's files this year, several European countries, including France, Poland, and Latvia, have established special investigative units to combat human trafficking.
According to the Paris public prosecutor's office, about 20 women in France have come forward in connection with the Epstein case - including one from Germany who wishes to remain anonymous. The information does not indicate how many ended up with Epstein after being promised a career on the catwalk.
The question is also whether all the promises that model scouts made to women when they linked them to Epstein were always just empty words? "Some of them probably got a few modeling jobs here and there to keep up the appearance," speculates Arik Fudali. German media NDR, WDR and Süddeutsche Zeitung contacted all the affected women who could be identified in the files during this investigation.
Many of them work or have worked as photo models. It remains unknown whether they got their jobs through Epstein and how many of them experienced sexual abuse. Almost none responded to the inquiry.
See more:
Download the app and follow the news
FOLLOW US ON
