Daniel Siad, a model scout accused of recruiting women for convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, was found dead Monday night at his home near Paris, the Nanterre prosecutor’s office said Wednesday.
Prosecutors confirmed a report by French newspaper Le Parisien and said an investigation had been opened to determine the cause of death after Siad’s body was discovered at his home in Colombes, west of Paris. An autopsy is expected to be conducted.
Daniel Siad
(Photo: AFP)
Siad was the subject of several complaints, including allegations of rape, and was under investigation in Paris by a police unit specializing in human trafficking. He denied the accusations and had said he wanted to be questioned by investigators so he could give his version of events.
His lawyer, Menya Arab-Tigrine, did not immediately respond to an AFP request for comment.
The first complaint against Siad was filed on February 10 by former Swedish model Ebba P. Karlsson. Karlsson, now in her 50s, said she had not known his identity until she recognized him in declassified documents linked to Epstein, where Siad’s name appears in more than 1,000 records.
In her complaint, Karlsson accused Siad of raping her when she was 20 and then sexually exploiting her by introducing her to Gérald Marie, the former head of the Elite modeling agency, whom she also accused of rape. Both Siad and Marie denied the allegations.
Karlsson co-founded the group Victorious Angels - WE RISE with Lisa Brinkworth, who has accused Marie of sexually assaulting her in 1998. The organization has spent years campaigning against sexual abuse in the modeling industry and within Epstein’s circle.
“I am in shock and so deeply saddened for all the victims,” Brinkworth told AFP.
“It is devastating that the survivors in the Brunel case were first denied justice, and now those in the Siad case,” she added.
Jean-Luc Brunel, a modeling agent and Epstein associate, died by suicide in detention in 2022 after being charged with raping minors and sexual harassment.
Epstein was found dead in his New York jail cell in 2019 after being arrested on federal charges of sex trafficking minors and conspiracy.