Ex-model questioned in France over scout with Epstein links

A former Swedish model has been questioned in France by investigators analysing evidence that could implicate French nationals in the crimes of the convicted US sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, sources said on Monday.

In February, the Paris prosecutor's office said it was setting up a special team to study such evidence, adding prosecutors had been asked to look into several cases, including one involving Daniel Siad, a model recruiter with close ties to Epstein. 

On February 10, French prosecutors received a complaint from Ebba Karlsson, a 56-year-old former Swedish model, against Siad.

She accused him of "sexual acts that she describes as rape and that may have been committed in France in 1990", prosecutors said.

Last week, Karlsson, who lives in the United States, was questioned by French investigators specialising in combating human trafficking, sources told AFP.

The questioning marked a key new step in the investigations launched by the Paris public prosecutor's office into the Epstein network.

She was heard by officers from France's Central Office for the Suppression of Trafficking in Human Beings last Thursday, she said.

"It went very well," she told AFP. "I felt safe." 

She said that that feeling reinforced the sense of relief she had felt on the day she filed her complaint.

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"It was so healing on a level I never expected," she said, referring to the day she had filed her complaint.

Karlsson said she did not know who Siad was until his photo surfaced in connection with the Epstein files.

"I just wanted to throw up," she said. "It was such a shock."

Karlsson accuses Siad of raping her when she was 20 and then sexually exploiting her by introducing her to model agency boss Gerald Marie, whom she accuses of raping her too. 

Both men have denied the claims. 

"Daniel Siad can only effectively defend himself within the framework of criminal proceedings brought against him," his lawyer Menya Arab-Tigrine told AFP on Monday. 

"He wishes to be heard as soon as possible. The right to defend oneself is a constitutional principle that must never be forgotten," she insisted.

Karlsson is also a member of the Victorious Angels -- We Rise collective, which last week requested that Marie be investigated as well.

clw-as/ekf