Around 10 new victims come forward in French Epstein probe, says Paris prosecutor

Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau said Sunday that around 10 new suspected victims have come forward in a French investigation into the network of late US sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, bringing the total to around 20 since she urged potential victims to speak up in February.

Beccuau, speaking on RTL's "Le Grand Jury" on May 17, 2026, said some of the victims who have come forward were already known to investigators, including victims of Jean-Luc Brunel and Gérald Marie. Brunel, a modeling agent indicted for rape of minors, died by suicide in detention in 2022. Marie, a former head of the Elite modeling agency, has been targeted by complaints and has denied the allegations through his lawyer.

"But we also had new victims come forward, ones we didn't know at all. There are around 10 of them," Beccuau said.

France opened a human trafficking investigation after the US Justice Department released the latest cache of Epstein files in January. Beccuau said investigators are re-examining Epstein's computer, telephone records, and address books. "We have also got back out Mr. Epstein's computer, his telephone records, his address books," she said, adding that her team will be making requests for international assistance.

"The choice we've made for the time being is to listen to these victims," Beccuau said. "A certain number of them are abroad so the investigators are trying to set up meetings to suit when they are able to come to Paris."

Beccuau said none of the people who could potentially be implicated have been questioned so far. "It's when we have completed our knowledge of Epstein's relations with the other protagonists in his network in France that we will hear the accused," she said.

Another possible recruiter for Epstein, Daniel Siad, is under investigation in Paris after complaints from potential victims.