French modeling agent Jean-Luc Brunel, a longtime associate of disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein, has been found dead in his prison cell, a spokesperson for the Paris prosecutor's office said.Brunel was found alone, hanged with bedsheets, in his jail cell at the Santé prison in the French capital at around 1:30 a.m. local time on Saturday, the prosecutor's office told CNN. It would not comment on whether Brunel killed himself, adding an investigation into the cause of death has been opened, "as it is systematically done in these cases," entrusted to the French judicial police.Brunel's French lawyers told CNN their client's "decision was not guided by guilt, but by a sense of injustice.""Jean-Luc Brunel has never stopped claiming his innocence. He has multiplied his efforts to prove it. A judge had released him a few months ago, and then he was re-incarcerated in undignified conditions," a statement sent to CNN by his lawyers Mathias Chichportich, Marianne Abgrall and Christophe Ingrain read.Accused of rape by several former top models, which he denied, the 75-year-old was put under formal investigation in France in late June 2021 for "rape of a minor over 15," the prosecutor's office confirmed.Brunel was arrested at Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport in December 2020 on counts of "rape and sexual assault, rape and sexual assault on a minor under 15, rape and sexual assault on a minor over 15, sexual harassment, criminal associations and human trafficking to the detriment of minor victims for the purposes of sexual exploitation."He was released under judicial supervision for a few days in November 2021, before being returned to prison by decision of the Paris Court of Appeals. He appealed the decision as the prosecution prepared its case.Brunel's arrest was part of a probe launched in 2019 by French prosecutors, targeting "acts of sexual nature likely to have been committed by Jeffrey Epstein and possible accomplices," based on checks and cross-checks carried out on information provided to the Paris public prosecutor's office and exchanges with U.S. authorities.Epstein was found dead in his prison cell in the United States on Aug. 10, 2019. He was awaiting trial at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Manhattan, after pleaded not guilty to federal charges accusing him of operating a sex trafficking ring from 2002 to 2005 at his Manhattan mansion and his Palm Beach estate, and allegedly paying girls as young as 14 for sex.A medical examiner ruled his death was suicide by hanging.

Jurors at the sex-abuse trial of Ghislaine Maxwell are expected Friday to see a law enforcement videotape of the interior of a Florida estate where prosecutors say she and financier Jeffrey Epstein exploited underage victims when the pair lived there together.The video was shot during a 2005 raid at the Palm Beach home, which was decorated with nude photos and paintings of young women — decor that federal prosecutors in Manhattan claim is proof of a sexualized atmosphere encouraged by Maxwell, Epstein's "partner in crime."Prosecutors have alleged the British socialite groomed teen girls by taking them on shopping trips and movie outings, talking to them about their lives and encouraging them to accept financial help from Epstein.The government also says she helped to create a sexualized atmosphere by talking with the girls about sex and encouraging them to give Epstein massages. A woman identified as "Jane" testified this week that she had sexual interactions with Epstein at age 14 with Maxwell in the room and sometimes participating.Maxwell, 59, denies the allegations against her, and her lawyers say prosecutors are going after her because they can’t try Epstein. She was Epstein’s onetime girlfriend and, later, employee.On Friday, former Epstein housekeeper Juan Patricio Alessi returned to the witness stand of Friday to face cross-examination over his testimony that "Jane" and another woman who has accused Epstein of sexually abusing her as a teens were repeated visitors at the Palm Beach mansion, where Maxwell was "the lady of the house."A lawyer for the British socialite sought to discredit Alessi — who worked for Epstein from 1990 to 2002 — by confronting him with a deposition from a civil case that the defense says was inconsistent with his trial testimony.Alessi claimed on Friday that none of the many young women who visited the Florida home alerted him to any misconduct."I wish they would have because I would have done something," he said.

A judge on Monday rejected a $28.5 million proposed bail package for Jeffrey Epstein's former girlfriend, saying her incarceration is necessary to ensure she faces trial on charges she recruited teenage girls for the late financier to sexually abuse.U.S. District Judge Alison J. Nathan rejected the proposed bail for Ghislaine Maxwell in an order. But she did not immediately release an opinion explaining her reasoning, in order to allow defense lawyers and prosecutors to propose redactions.Defense lawyers for Maxwell, who had lost a bail request shortly after her July arrest, recently offered the new bail package, saying Maxwell and her husband were offering all of their wealth — $22.5 million — and millions more in the assets of friends and family to secure bail. Maxwell's husband has not been publicly identified.Her attorneys said Maxwell would remain in a New York City residence under 24-hour guard and would submit to electronic monitoring if the judge accepted the bail package.A message seeking comment was sent to Maxwell's lawyers after Nathan ruled.Prosecutors said Maxwell still retained access to significant wealth and was a high risk to flee because of her connections abroad — in addition to U.S. citizenship, she holds citizenship in the her native United Kingdom and France.Maxwell, 59, was arrested in July at a secluded New Hampshire home and was brought to New York City.She was charged with recruiting three teenagers as young as age 14 for Epstein to sexually abuse between 1994 and 1997. She also was accused of sometimes participating in the abuse. She pleaded not guilty to an indictment.She has remained at a federal lockup in Brooklyn after Nathan concluded shortly after her arrest that there were no bail conditions that would ensure she would not flee."For substantially the same reasons as the Court determined that detention was warranted in the initial bail hearing, the Court again concludes that no conditions of release can reasonably assure the Defendant's appearance at future proceedings," Nathan wrote Monday."In reaching that conclusion, the Court considers the nature and circumstances of the offenses charged, the weight of the evidence against the Defendant, the history and characteristics of the Defendant, and the nature and seriousness of the danger that the Defendant's release would pose," the judge added.Epstein killed himself in August 2019 at a Manhattan federal jail as he awaited a sex trafficking trial.

NEW YORK —

A judge on Monday rejected a $28.5 million proposed bail package for Jeffrey Epstein's former girlfriend, saying her incarceration is necessary to ensure she faces trial on charges she recruited teenage girls for the late financier to sexually abuse.

U.S. District Judge Alison J. Nathan rejected the proposed bail for Ghislaine Maxwell in an order. But she did not immediately release an opinion explaining her reasoning, in order to allow defense lawyers and prosecutors to propose redactions.

Defense lawyers for Maxwell, who had lost a bail request shortly after her July arrest, recently offered the new bail package, saying Maxwell and her husband were offering all of their wealth — $22.5 million — and millions more in the assets of friends and family to secure bail. Maxwell's husband has not been publicly identified.

Her attorneys said Maxwell would remain in a New York City residence under 24-hour guard and would submit to electronic monitoring if the judge accepted the bail package.

A message seeking comment was sent to Maxwell's lawyers after Nathan ruled.

John Minchillo / AP File Photo

Prosecutors said Maxwell still retained access to significant wealth and was a high risk to flee because of her connections abroad — in addition to U.S. citizenship, she holds citizenship in the her native United Kingdom and France.

Maxwell, 59, was arrested in July at a secluded New Hampshire home and was brought to New York City.

She was charged with recruiting three teenagers as young as age 14 for Epstein to sexually abuse between 1994 and 1997. She also was accused of sometimes participating in the abuse. She pleaded not guilty to an indictment.

She has remained at a federal lockup in Brooklyn after Nathan concluded shortly after her arrest that there were no bail conditions that would ensure she would not flee.

"For substantially the same reasons as the Court determined that detention was warranted in the initial bail hearing, the Court again concludes that no conditions of release can reasonably assure the Defendant's appearance at future proceedings," Nathan wrote Monday.

"In reaching that conclusion, the Court considers the nature and circumstances of the offenses charged, the weight of the evidence against the Defendant, the history and characteristics of the Defendant, and the nature and seriousness of the danger that the Defendant's release would pose," the judge added.

Epstein killed himself in August 2019 at a Manhattan federal jail as he awaited a sex trafficking trial.