JEFFREY Epstein's alleged rapist pal Jean-Luc Brunel has been nabbed at a Paris airport for “sex trafficking models”, say prosecutors.

Brunel was detained on Wednesday on accusations of rape, sexual assault of minors, human trafficking and being part of a criminal conspiracy, according to officials.

He was detained at Paris's Charles de Gaulle airport as he was about to take a plane to Senegal, a source close to the case added.

Brunel, who has denied any wrongdoing, was placed in custody.

While at a secure police station in the French capital, he was being interviewed about his alleged connections with a range of figures.

The Paris prosecutor’s office said on Thursday that his custody was part of a probe opened last year into allegations of rape, sexual assault and sexual harassment.

Brunel is accused of having been a lynchpin of a global underage sex ring organised by the late American multi-billionaire Jeffrey Epstein.

Referring to Brunel, a French prosecuting source said on Thursday: "The suspect is being held in relation to rape, sexual assault, criminal conspiracy and human trafficking, and all the allegations involve minors."

Brunel, who has rejected all the allegations, had in 2015 sued Epstein.

He claimed that his former pal’s high-profile legal troubles had unfairly embroiled him and damaged his modelling agency’s reputation.

Epstein, who was arrested in New York in July on charges of trafficking underage girls for sex, was found hanged in his New York jail cell on August 10, 2019.

He had been awaiting trial over abuses involving girls at his Palm Beach home and on his private island in the Caribbean.

Epstein's ownership of an apartment in an upmarket Paris district and allegations from women who claim they were abused in France prompted French prosecutors to open their own criminal probe in August.

This investigation in France focused on Brunel, who was accused in American court documents of rape and of procuring young girls for his friend.

"The [alleged] victims have long awaited the arrest of Jean-Luc Brunel.

"They welcome his detention with relief and with confidence in the legal process," said lawyer Anne-Claire Lejeune, who represents several of the alleged victims.

"This is huge news. I am crying with joy," said Thysia Huisman.

The former Dutch model alleges she was "drugged and raped" by Brunel at the age of 18.

Brunel's lawyer in October 2019 said he vehemently rejected allegations made in the press.

His detention at the airport also ends over a year of uncertainty and mystery about his whereabouts.

His lawyer had denied his client was on the run, insisting he was available for questioning.

French cops last year raided the offices of Karin Models, an agency founded by Brunel.

They also searched Epstein's luxury Paris home not far from the Arc de Triomphe.

Earlier this year, The Sun shared exclusive pics of Ghislaine Maxwell cavorting with the suspected rapist — in a snapshot of lurid lie on the paedophile’s Caribbean isle.

The previously unseen photos show her playfully wrestling with model agency boss Jean-Luc Brunel, who was said in August to be in hiding after being accused of sex attacks on young women dating back decades.

Maxwell, now 58, and in jail awaiting trial for allegedly sex-trafficking minors for Epstein, screams with laughter in the images as she is grabbed by Brunel on Little St James, nicknamed “Paedo Island”.

Frenchman Brunel, 73, is also accused of using his agency to recruit underage girls for Epstein and is alleged to have given him three 12-year-old sisters to abuse as a birthday present.

A guest on the isle in 2003 when the pictures were taken said: “Ghislaine and Jean-Luc were very close friends.

“On this occasion, she had just returned from the gym and was eating when Jean-Luc suddenly grabbed her."

Paris-born Brunel, listed as a passenger on Epstein’s jet 25 times, claims to have discovered catwalk stars including Christy Turlington and Milla Jovovich.

But allegations of rape and sexual assault have swirled around him for years.

In 1988, a handful of young models publicly accused him of sex abuse in a US TV documentary. But no action was taken against him. He denies the allegations.

Epstein victim Virginia Roberts made the claim about Brunel’s sick “birthday gift” in court documents.

She said: “Jeffrey bragged they were 12-year-olds and flown over from France because they’re really poor over there and their parents needed the money.”

More to follow…

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