Brunel was charged with rape of minors and has been detained since December 2020. The suspicions against him were raised after women in the investigation against Jeffrey Epstein testified that they had been abused in France.
Brunel was released for a short period at the end of 2021 but was then re-arrested by the Court of Appeal in Paris.
Investigating the cause of death
French prosecutors confirm that Jean-Luc Brunel was found dead in his cell in La Santé detention center.
A source close to the investigation states that there are signs that Brunel committed suicide, but the information is not confirmed by prosecutors.
Police are now investigating the cause of death, according to the source.
Brunel's death means his case is closed.
Virginia Roberts Giuffre, a key plaintiff against Epstein, accused Brunel of using her as a "sex slave" and said she had been forced to have sex with well-known politicians and businessmen, including Brunel.
She also claimed that Brunel took girls as young as twelve to the United States and passed them on to friends, including Jeffrey Epstein.
Maintained his innocence
Brunel denied the allegations against him.
"Jean-Luc Brunel had always maintained his innocence and had intensified his efforts to prove it," his lawyers said in a statement.
Brunel's death comes just days after Britain's Prince Andrew reached a settlement with Virginia Roberts Giuffre, who accused him of raping her in 2001, when she was 17 years old.
Jeffrey Epstein was arrested in July 2019 on charges of trafficking underage girls, and was found hanging in his New York detention cell the following month awaiting trial.