Former model Carré Otis denounces former head of Elite agency for rape

Carre Otis at the CFDA Fashion Awards in 2021.
Evan Agostini/Invision/AP/File
Former American supermodel Carré Otis filed a complaint in the Paris Court this Friday accusing Gérald Marie, former head of the European operation of the Elite Model agency, of rape and human trafficking.
According to Otis' lawyer, the initiative seeks to encourage other possible victims to report similar cases.
Marie denies the accusations and cannot be prosecuted for the allegations made by Otis due to the statute of limitations under French law.
However, the complaint could allow other women, whose cases are time-barred or not, to join the process, said lawyer Mathias Darmon in a statement sent to the Associated Press.
The complaint, to which the AP had access, includes accusations of rape of a minor and human trafficking.
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According to the document, Otis was sent to Paris by the Elite agency in 1986, when she was 17 years old. She would have been staying in Marie's apartment, believing that he intended to help her develop her career as a model.
While living there, the complaint states, she was raped several times by Marie. The former executive would also have organized meetings with other rich men in different European countries.
The document also states that Otis never received payment for the work he performed as a model during that period.
"The objective is to give other victims the opportunity to find the courage to join our complaint," said Darmon. "We are opening the door for everyone affected by this case of international relevance to speak out and have their voices heard."
Now 58 years old, Otis became one of the world's leading models in the late 1980s and early 1990s, appearing on the covers of magazines such as "Elle", "Vogue" and "Vanity Fair", as well as participating in the traditional Pirelli calendar.
Marie, a 76-year-old French citizen, commanded the operations of Elite in Europe between 1985 and 2010, a period in which the agency dominated the fashion industry. He helped launch the careers of some of the most famous models in the world.
French broadcaster France Info reported this Friday that Otis said he wanted to "denounce an entire system of sexual abuse against models that has lasted for years in the fashion industry", drawing parallels with the repercussions of the case involving Jeffrey Epstein.
A complaint filed in 2021 by Otis and other former models, which accused Marie of rape and sexual assault in the 1980s, was shelved because the facts were already prescribed.
Under French law, victims who were minors at the time of alleged sexual abuse can file a criminal complaint up to 30 years after reaching the age of majority, which allows cases to be opened up to 48 years of age.

Source: G1