UPDATE - Child protection group pushes for reopening of Epstein-related investigations in France

ADDS COMPLAINT FILED BY A WOMAN

By Ilayda Cakirtekin

ISTANBUL (AA) - Innocence in Danger, an international organization for the protection of children against all forms of violence and abuse, announced on Tuesday that they consider filing a complaint to push for the reopening of a France-based investigation into the actions of late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

"Innocence en danger is currently studying the possibility of filing a complaint," Homayra Sellier, the president and founder of the association, told broadcaster Franceinfo.

Sellier said she has “appointed five lawyers” to request the reopening of the 2019 investigation, which was closed in 2022 following the suicide of French modeling agent Jean-Luc Brunel, who was a close associate of Epstein and convicted for rape and sexual harassment.

"There is sufficient evidence for the justice system to take up this case," she said, adding: "Jean-Luc Brunel was only one link in this network. The network itself needed to be investigated. At the time, underage victims had contacted us."

Sellier reaffirmed that she “started receiving testimonies again” and urged those concerned to file complaints in order to allow a new investigation to be opened.

"If people file complaints in France, the public prosecutor generally opens an investigation,” Gerald Darmanin also told France Info earlier in the day.

Meanwhile, a Swedish woman filed a complaint on Tuesday for rape and human trafficking with the Paris prosecutor’s office against Daniel Siad, suspected of having been a recruiter for Epstein, according to broadcaster BFMTV.

The alleged crimes date back to the 1990s, when the complainant claims she was raped after Siad invited her to a swimsuit casting.

She said she only identified her alleged attacker this year, after a journalist showed her a photograph of Daniel Siad, having previously known him under a false name.

The name Daniel Siad has repeatedly appeared in the released Epstein files, although he has never been questioned by French judicial authorities.