The events would have occurred in 1980 and 1998, that is to say more than 20 years ago.
But they are serious enough for the Paris prosecutor's office to open an investigation on September 28 for "rape and sexual assault as well as rape and sexual assault on a minor" against Gérald Marie, European director of the Elite agency during 25 years.
Entrusted to the Brigade for the protection of minors, the investigation follows the filing of a complaint and three reports, on September 21, from Lisa Brinkworth, ex-journalist of the BBC and three former models.
On Saturday, Gerald Marie, 70, still in business and owner of the Parisian model agency Oui management, "categorically denied" to the Sunday Times the accusations against him.
A luminary in the fashion world
Since the early 1980s, Gérald Marie has been a leading figure in the modeling world.
Joined Elite in 1987, he quickly became the ex-right arm of John Casablancas, founder of the agency.
It was he who popularized the Elite Model Look competition at the end of the 1980s, he also who hatched the top models, Naomi Campbell, Cindy Crawford or Linda Evangelista - who was once his wife.
The agency, long leader of the market, makes thousands of aspiring models dream, giving Gérald Marie a status from which he would benefit.
Gérald Marie carves out a reputation for unrepentant flirtatious, intractable in business, little concerned with the integrity of models.
In 'Model: The Ugly Business of Beautiful Women', by Michael Gross, photographer Jacques Silberstein says of him: “He liked to sleep with girls. His philosophy was' Si you want to work, you have to fuck me '' '.
Hidden camera investigation
In 1998, BBC journalists Lisa Brinkworth and Donald MacIntyre carried out - under cover - an investigation into sexual abuse in the fashion world.
They infiltrate the fashion industry for these purposes, Lisa Brinkworth posing as a model and Donald MacIntyre as a photographer.
It is in this context that the journalist finds herself at a dinner in Milan, Italy, on October 5, with several Elite executives, filmed on a hidden camera.
According to his testimony consulted by 20 minutes, the agent first offered the young woman to pay for her meal by giving blowjobs to all the guests.
Then Gérald Marie, whom she followed to a club, allegedly "straddled her while she was sitting on a chair" and "began to push his penis in her lower abdomen".
"I thought he was going to rape me. At the table, all the Elite agents were laughing," she testified.
An amicable agreement between the BBC and the Elite agency
The report by Lisa Brinkworth and Donald MacIntyre aired on the BBC in 1999. These images, although stolen, reveal a world where drugs circulate afloat and where women, ever younger, sometimes minors, are treated like commodities .
We see in particular Gérald Marie offering 600 euros (3000 francs at the time) to the alleged model - Lisa Brinkworth - to sleep with her.
After its scandalous broadcast, Elite filed a complaint against the BBC for defamation.
In 2001, at the end of a long expertise, the two parties reach an amicable agreement: Elite abandons its charges if the BBC undertakes to no longer broadcast or sell the program.
The case is closed and Lisa Brinkworth remains "seriously traumatized", but no longer has the right to speak about the facts publicly.
"She was not legally bound by this agreement (...), but the BBC told her that she was in no way authorized to speak publicly about the events she had experienced during her investigation", says the complaint, which sees it as a reason to suspend the limitation period.
"I can only welcome this decision which, in view of the elements provided by the various victims, was necessary", responded Ms. Brinkworth's lawyer, Me Anne-Claire Lejeune.
"This investigation will, I hope, allow others to have the courage to speak out. It is an encouraging first step and a relief for the victims," added Me Lejeune.
Three reports for rape
Lisa Brinkworth's complaint is accompanied by three reports of ex-models for "rapes" in Paris.
In their testimonies, Jill Dodd, Carré Otis-Sutton and Ebba Karlsson describe how the former boss of Elite Europe demanded sexual favors when they were 19, 17 and 21, respectively.
Carre Ottis-Sutton denounces "innumerable" rapes in 1986, when she was only 17 years old, in Gérald Marie's apartment.
She was living there at the time, hoping to break into the modeling business.
The Swedish Ebba Karlsson denounces a rape which would have occurred in 1990, when she was 21 years old.
She had a casting in the offices of Elite in Paris.
According to his testimony, Gerald Marie told him: "If you want to be like [a Scandinavian model], you have to give something back", then would have thrust his hand into his panties and would have penetrated him with his finger.
The Swedish Ebba Karlsson was casting in the offices of Elite in Paris.
According to her testimony, Gérald Marie told her "If you want to be like [a Scandinavian model], you have to give something back" She says she suffered digital penetration #MeToo pic.twitter.com/wekFYzXXLT
- Philippe Berry (@ptiberry) September 27, 2020
The latest report is that of the American Jill Dodd, who had also just arrived in Paris and said to have been raped by Gérald Marie, also at his home, when she was 19 years old.
Facts that would be prescribed today.
With AFP
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