France identifies new Epstein victims

France has identified new alleged victims in its investigation into the French connections of Jeffrey Epstein, who died in prison while awaiting trial on charges related to trafficking and sexual abuse of underage girls.

Speaking on the joint program of RTL radio and Public Senat, Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau discussed developments in the large-scale investigation launched after more than 3 million Epstein-related documents were released publicly in the United States last year, CE Report quotes Anadolu Agency.

Beccuau said that around 20 victims have been identified as part of the French investigation into alleged human trafficking linked to Epstein. About 10 of those individuals were previously unknown to investigators.

The prosecutor noted that roughly half of the identified victims were linked to former modeling agency executives Jean-Luc Brunel and Gerald Marie, whose names appeared in the Epstein files.

She added that some of the victims are currently abroad and that French authorities have requested international legal assistance as part of the investigation.

The United States Department of Justice released additional Epstein-related documents in January, drawing widespread public attention because they included the names of numerous figures from politics and business. Following the publication, Paris prosecutors opened investigations into certain individuals mentioned in the files.

The Jeffrey Epstein case

Jeffrey Epstein was accused of sexually abusing dozens of girls under the age of 18, including some as young as 14, and of operating a trafficking network.

He was found dead in his prison cell at the Manhattan Metropolitan Correctional Center on August 10, 2019, while awaiting trial.

Names appearing in released court documents included:

• Prince Andrew
• Donald Trump
• Bill Clinton
• Ehud Barak
• Al Gore
• Kevin Spacey
• Michael Jackson
• David Copperfield
• Alan Dershowitz
• Bill Richardson

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the U.S. Justice Department later stated that they found no evidence of a secret “client list” involving celebrities or public officials. Authorities concluded that Epstein died by suicide in his cell and said there was no evidence supporting claims that he was killed to cover up crimes involving powerful individuals.

Photo: Wikipedia