French fashion and modeling agent, Jean-Luc Brunel, suspected of being part of the late US billionaire Jeffrey Epstein’s global underage sex ring, was found dead in his cell in the Paris La Santé prison in the early hours of Saturday morning. The Paris Prosecutor’s Office has confirmed his death to AFP and said that an investigation has been opened into the incident.

Brunel, who has been in pre-trial detention since late 2020, reportedly committed suicide by hanging himself in his cell, the French broadcaster BFM TV reported, citing its sources. His body was allegedly discovered by a night patrol around 1am local time on Saturday morning. “Early evidence points to suicide,” an investigative source has told the Daily Mail.

The fashion agent was arrested at Paris’ Charles de Gaulle airport in December 2020 when he sought to leave for Dakar, Senegal “on holiday.” Two days after his arrest, he was charged with “rape of a minor over 15 years old” and “sexual harassment.” Prince Andrew’s accuser, Virginia Giuffre, has blamed Brunel of abusing her as well, as she has said that she had had to engage in “sexual relations with Brunel on several occasions” when she was 16, according to legal documents filed both in the US and France.