Prince Andrew faces fresh controversy after Jeffrey Epstein’s ‘pimp’ Jean-Luc Brunel dies in prison ‘suicide’ a week after the royal settled Virginia Roberts’ sex claim for £12m
- Prince Andrew agreed reported £12m out-of-court settlement with Ms Giuffre
- It was hoped settling before case went to trial could stop further embarrassment
- Prospect of court case seen as threat to Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations
- Death of Epstein’s ‘pimp’ Jean-Luc Brunel will renew interest in the scandal
- It was reported Andrew could be questioned over links to Brunel, who was alleged to have had sex with Ms Giuffre while she was being trafficked
The death of Jeffrey Epstein’s ‘pimp’ accused of trafficking several girls to him will cause fresh embarrassment for Prince Andrew as he attempts to draw a line under the scandal.
French modelling agent Jean-Luc Brunel, 76, who allegedly procured more than a thousand women and girls for paedophile financier Epstein to sleep with, was found hanged in his prison cell today in an alleged suicide.
Brunel had been facing preliminary charges of raping girls between 15 and 18 years old.
Among those who spoke out against him was Epstein victim Virginia Giuffre, who said that she had had sex with Brunel several times when she was between the ages of 16 and 19, while she said she was being trafficked by Epstein.
Giuffre has also said that she had been forced to have sex with Prince Andrew on three occasions starting when she was 17.
The death of Jeffrey Epstein’s ‘pimp’ accused of trafficking several girls to him will cause fresh embarrassment for Prince Andrew as he attempts to draw a line under the scandal
French modelling agent Jean-Luc Brunel, 76, who allegedly procured more than a thousand women and girls for paedophile financier Epstein to sleep with, was found hanged in his prison cell today in an alleged suicide
It comes just days after the Duke of York agreed a significant out-of-court settlement with Ms Giuffre, which could reportedly end up costing £12 million.
It was believed that a settlement between Andrew and Ms Giuffre ahead of a jury trial in their civil case would end the prospect of embarrassing the royal family during the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee year celebrations.
However, the settlement has raised serious questions over whether the Queen is helping Andrew to fund the agreement.
And now Brunel’s suicide is likely to pile further controversy onto the Duke.
It was reported in 2020 that French investigators could consider questioning Prince Andrew about his links with Brunel, who had shared Epstein as a mutual acquaintance.
Rémy Heitz, the Paris prosecutor, said that Mr Brunel was ‘suspected of having organised the transport and lodging of girls or young women on behalf of Jeffrey Epstein’, and were seeking to establish the nature of his alleged activities on behalf of Epstein who killed himself in a New York prison the year before.
Brunel had been facing preliminary charges of raping girls between 15 and 18 years old. Among those who spoke out against him was Epstein victim Virginia Giuffre, who said that she had had sex with Brunel several times when she was between the ages of 16 and 19, while she said she was being trafficked by Epstein. Giuffre had become a key witness in the prosecution of Brunel
Brunel had denied all allegations against him.
The French inquiry had also conducted a video interview Ms Giuffre, a victim of Epstein, according to The Times.
She said in court papers that Brunel had offered modelling jobs to girls as young as 12 and took them to the United States to ‘farm them out to his friends, especially Epstein’.
Giuffre alleged that she had had sex with Brunel several times, and that she had been forced to have sex with Prince Andrew on three occasions, which Andrew denied.
Brunel was then arrested at Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris with a one-way ticket to Dakar, capital of Senegal, in West Africa.
Giuffre alleged that she had had sex with Brunel several times, and that she had been forced to have sex with Prince Andrew on three occasions, which Andrew denied. Pictured: Prince Andrew, Virginia and Ghislaine Maxwell at Maxwell’s London flat
Following the arrest, Ms Giuffre taunted Prince Andrew on social media. ‘Are you sweating yet, Prince Andrew?’ she wrote.
‘You should be. Your buddy Jean-Luc Brunel is behind bars. Remember those girls he supplied to you on the island?’
According to French law, a French citizen such as Brunel can be tried in France for offences committed abroad.
The French investigation however suffered obstacles because of a statute of limitations that covers rape prosecutions that are 20 years old or 30 years old in the case of minors.
Both Prince Andrew and Brunel vehemently denied the claims, with a source close to Andrew telling the Royal Observer: ‘He has never met Brunel. No ifs, no buts.’
Despite vowing to fight Giuffre’s allegations directed against him in the civil case filed in New York – and repeatedly protesting his innocence – Andrew last week agreed to pay a large sum to settle the case before it reaches a jury.
The Telegraph reported the total amount that the victim and her charity will receive will actually exceed £12m, with the funds coming from her private Duchy of Lancaster estate, which recently increased by £1.5m to more than £23m.
It was believed that a settlement between Andrew and Ms Giuffre ahead of a jury trial in their civil case would end the prospect of embarrassing the royal family during the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee year celebrations. However, the settlement has raised serious questions over whether the Queen is helping Andrew to fund the agreement
Although the agreement contained no formal admission of liability from Andrew, or an apology, it said he now accepted Miss Roberts was a ‘victim of abuse’ and that he regretted his association with Epstein, the disgraced financier who trafficked countless young girls.
A statement announcing the settlement read: ‘Virginia Giuffre and Prince Andrew have reached an out of court settlement.
‘The parties will file a stipulated dismissal upon Ms Giuffre’s receipt of the settlement (the sum of which is not being disclosed). Prince Andrew intends to make a substantial donation to Ms Giuffre’s charity in support of victims’ rights.
‘Prince Andrew has never intended to malign Ms. Giuffre’s character, and he accepts that she has suffered both as an established victim of abuse and as a result of unfair public attacks. It is known that Jeffrey Epstein trafficked countless young girls over many years.
‘Prince Andrew regrets his association with Epstein, and commends the bravery of Ms Giuffre and other survivors in standing up for themselves and others. He pledges to demonstrate his regret for his association with Epstein by supporting the fight against the evils of sex trafficking, and by supporting its victims.’
Source: Read Full Article
