Paris – 15.07.2026: Six former models have filed a criminal complaint in Paris against Gérald Marie, the former European head of the Elite modeling agency. The women, most of them from the United States, accuse him of rape and human trafficking, according to consistent media reports. The alleged acts are said to have taken place in Paris and in connection with international fashion productions during the 1980s and 1990s.
The complaints provide the former models with a new shared legal framework. At the center are accounts by young women who came to France for their careers and were reportedly dependent at the time on the power of individual agency representatives. It was not initially officially announced on Wednesday which specific allegations the Paris judiciary is now examining in each case, or whether an investigation will be opened or expanded.
Gérald Marie headed Elite’s European division for many years. Elite was one of the most influential agencies in the international fashion industry. Allegations of sexual violence against him had already become public since 2020. Several former models had approached the French judiciary at the time and called on other possible victims to report their experiences.
One of the best-known plaintiffs is U.S. model Carré Otis. She filed another complaint in Paris at the beginning of June 2026. According to information that became known at the time through her complaint, she accuses Marie of repeatedly raping her when she was a minor and of providing her to other men. These allegations are claims made by the plaintiff; only the judiciary decides their criminal-law assessment.
Marie has denied the allegations made against him in the past. The presumption of innocence applies to all parties involved. A complaint is not proof of guilt, but rather the beginning or possible continuation of a judicial review process. Particularly in cases involving alleged acts that took place long ago, questions of statutes of limitations and the ability to establish evidence may be decisive for the proceedings.
The case once again draws attention to the working conditions of young models in an industry in which travel, accommodation and professional opportunities are often organized through only a few intermediaries. The women describe a period in which they lived far from home and had hardly any independent contacts. In their view, their new complaints are intended not only to clarify personal allegations, but also to encourage other possible victims to contact the authorities.
It remains open whether and to what extent the Paris public prosecutor’s office will combine the new complaints with older proceedings. What is clear so far is that the allegations now raised concern a former sphere of power in the fashion industry and a period dating back decades. For the plaintiffs, this nevertheless marks a new attempt to have their statements examined by French investigative authorities.
Sources
- Franceinfo
- Le Parisien
- AFP