Six women file rape and trafficking complaints against former Elite modeling boss Gérald Marie in Paris

Six women, most of them American citizens, lodged criminal complaints with civil party status at the Paris judicial court on Wednesday, 15 July 2026, against Gérald Marie, the former European director of the Elite modeling agency. The complaints accuse Marie of rape, rape of a minor, and human trafficking, with the alleged acts dating back to the 1980s and 1990s. The plaintiffs are between 45 and 60 years old, and one was a minor at the time of the alleged offences, according to their lawyer Mathias Darmon.

The new complaints

The six complaints, filed before the senior investigating judge, highlight what the plaintiffs describe as "concordant statements" about a pattern of abuse spanning decades. The legal filing states that Marie, as head of an international modeling agency with a major presence in Paris, "used the position of authority, influence and power conferred by his functions to obtain imposed sexual relations from numerous young women, some of whom were minors at the time." The alleged acts are described as being of "exceptional gravity," particularly given their "repeated nature."

Some of the six women had already filed complaints in 2020 or 2021, but those earlier attempts resulted in dismissals or no penal response. Two of the women are coming forward for the first time. One plaintiff had previously filed a complaint in 2000 concerning the rape of a minor, BFMTV reported.

Carré Otis's earlier complaint

The new filings follow a criminal complaint lodged on 5 June 2026 by former US supermodel Carré Otis, now 57. Otis accuses Marie of raping her when she was 17 years old and of making her a victim of human trafficking. She was part of the elite group of supermodels in the 1990s alongside Naomi Campbell, Cindy Crawford and Claudia Schiffer. Otis stated that the alleged acts took place at Marie's home in the mid-1980s while his then-partner, top model Linda Evangelista, was absent.

Defence response

Marie's lawyer, Céline Bekerman, told AFP that her client "categorically contests these accusations, today as yesterday." She argued that the allegations had already been examined in a thorough investigation by the Paris prosecutor's office and that there was no reason to mobilise the justice system again nearly forty years after the alleged facts, on a case that is both time-barred and closed.

There is no reason to mobilise the justice system again to revisit, nearly forty years after the alleged facts, a case that is both prescribed and closed. By dint of repetition, this amounts to harassment.

Previous legal actions and the Epstein link

In 2023, the Paris prosecutor's office dismissed a complaint against Marie by former BBC journalist Lisa Brinkworth, citing the statute of limitations. Brinkworth was among a group of 15 women who, in March 2026, demanded an investigation into alleged connections between Marie and the late US sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Former model Laurie Marsden, in an interview with BFMTV in February 2026, described an alleged attempted rape by Marie when she was 19. She recounted being invited to a party at his home, where he promised to make her a star, then being cornered and sexually assaulted after she went to the bathroom.

His intention was clear, he wanted to rape me. It was really by a miracle that I managed to push him away and flee. It was truly terrible and very trying for me. I was 19, I had never experienced this kind of thing and I really came close to rape.

What comes next

The six women are seeking to be joined as civil parties, which would give them access to the investigative file and the right to request further investigative steps. The Paris prosecutor's office will now examine the admissibility of the complaints, while Marie's defence maintains that the entire matter is time-barred.