Epstein’s Fixer Used Flair Magazine Contest to Target Teen Models
New testimony has emerged linking Jeffrey Epstein’s longtime fixer, French modeling agent Jean-Luc Brunel, to a model contest organized by the Belgian-Dutch women’s magazine Flair, revealing how Brunel exploited the competition to gain systematic access to vulnerable teenage girls over a period of at least 25 years. A witness has recounted being 18 years old with no sexual experience, feeling that something had happened but remembering nothing after an encounter with Brunel in Paris.
The Flair Magazine Connection
Brunel, who died by suicide in a Paris prison in 2022 while awaiting trial on charges of raping minors and trafficking, served as a regular jury member for Flair magazine’s annual model contest for years, according to an investigation by De Morgen. The contest was organized by Models Office, a Belgian modeling agency run by Pierre Eggermont and his wife Marielou Eggermont.
The competition targeted girls aged 15 to 17, promising them a launch into the modeling industry. Wiel Elbersen, then editor-in-chief of Dutch Flair, was also involved in bringing young models to Brunel in Paris, personally accompanying them and leaving them in his care.
Victims’ Accounts
In 1988, a Dutch model identified only as “Marja” was 18 years old when she was taken to Paris by Eggermont and Elbersen and left with Brunel and his associate Jean-Yves Le Fur. As AD.nl reported in 2019, Marja recalled: “After dinner we were left behind by Eggermont and Elbersen with Brunel and Le Fur. We drove in a Mercedes and a Ferrari through Paris… Brunel took my friend upstairs, I stayed behind. I wanted to leave and had Le Fur take me to our hotel.”
Marja later returned to Paris at the urging of Models Office and ended up in Brunel’s apartment after a party. “I remember saying I didn’t want sex. But it happened. I don’t know if I can call it rape. Did I resist enough? I should have said more, I kept thinking. Beyond that, that night is a total blackout. Only now do I wonder if I was drugged.”
Another Dutch model, Thysia Huisman, was drugged and raped by Brunel in Paris in 1991 when she was 18. She became the first to file a formal complaint against him. Yvonne Hooiveld, another former model, refused Brunel’s invitation to Paris after hearing the stories. “I am convinced they knew in Brussels what was happening,” she told AD.nl. “They did it all for the money. I consider them just as guilty.”
A Pipeline to Epstein
Brunel’s agency MC2 Model Management, financed by Jeffrey Epstein, was described by victims as “a direct link to Epstein’s bedroom.” As EUobserver reported in April 2026, Brunel also targeted girls at modeling competitions in Eastern Europe, including the “Topmodel of the New Millennium” contest in Prague.
Former New York Times editor Michael Gross, author of the book ‘Model,’ described Brunel as “a legitimate modelling agent whose personality was, unfortunately, both Jekyll and Hyde. On the one hand, he operated as a genuine agent, on the other he was a repulsive trafficker in women.”
According to Wikipedia, Brunel visited Epstein 67 times during his 2008 incarceration and flew dozens of times on Epstein’s private plane, the “Lolita Express.” Epstein provided Brunel with a $1 million line of credit to launch MC2 in 2005.
Institutional Complicity
The investigation raises serious questions about institutional complicity. Despite public allegations dating back to a 1988 CBS 60 Minutes investigation in which five models accused Brunel of drugging and rape, and Michael Gross’s 1995 book documenting his predatory behavior, Models Office continued sending young models to Brunel for at least another two decades.
As BBC News reported in March 2026, Brunel’s reach extended to South America as well, where he used modeling competitions in Ecuador to identify vulnerable girls and arrange US visas for them through his agencies.
John Casablancas, a prominent modeling agent, told Gross for his book: “This man should be behind bars. There was a small group, with Jean-Luc and two others, known for prowling clubs in Paris. They would invite girls and put drugs in their drinks.”
What’s Next
The 2026 release of new Epstein files by the US Department of Justice has continued to generate fresh reporting and testimony, suggesting the full scope of Brunel’s network is still emerging. French authorities announced in February 2026 that they were re-examining Brunel’s case. Questions remain about what Flair magazine’s leadership knew and when, and what legal liability Models Office and Flair may face for their role in facilitating Brunel’s access to minors over decades.