A modeling agent who introduced young women and teenage girls to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein was found dead at his home near Paris this week, French officials said.
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The body of Daniel Siad, 69, was discovered Monday at his home in Colombes, a suburb of Paris, Marie-Céline Lawrysz, deputy public prosecutor at the Nanterre Judicial Court, said in a statement Wednesday. She said an investigation was opened that evening into the cause of death.
For roughly a decade, Siad corresponded with Epstein about young women and teenage girls, sometimes describing them by their ages and nationalities and then offering to send Epstein photos, according to emails that were included in the expansive Epstein files released by the Justice Department.
In a 2009 email, Siad described a woman from Latvia who was 5 feet 8 inches tall: “she is 20 years old but she looks younger,” Siad wrote to Epstein.
In a 2014 email, Siad discussed a 15-year-old French girl whose parents were excited for her to start modeling. He also mentioned 16- and 17-year-olds.
“This busyness I feel like fisherman some time I cache quick , some time no fish,” Siad wrote to Epstein.
In an interview last month with CNN, Siad pushed back on the suggestion that he should not have introduced aspiring models to Epstein because it was public knowledge that the financier was a convicted sex offender. Siad maintained that Epstein, who was released from jail in 2009 after serving 13 months of an 18-month sentence, was a “free man” and had always been “very professional” with him.
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“I never doubt that because I never heard anything from anyone who I introduced [to Epstein], who came back to me that they had a bad – a bad situation with him,” Siad told CNN.
In the same interview, Siad said he regretted meeting Epstein.
“Yes. I feel – it’s like a nightmare,” Siad told the network. “… He was such a powerful person. And how can I not trust him?”
The expansive Epstein files released by the Justice Department exposed the financier’s cozy relationships with high-profile and powerful associates, leading to cascading resignations and public shaming.
But a review of the files by The Washington Post also revealed how Epstein cultivated a network of lesser-known associates – including those from the modeling industry – who offered to bring women into his orbit in the years after he was released from jail.
The emails were often crude and sexualized, even if the purpose of the introduction was not explicitly stated. A Swedish modeling scout, for example, messaged about his efforts to find teenage girls for Epstein. A Russian model told Epstein by email that another woman would “be very easy” if he told her that she too had potential to become a model. Others sent messages to Epstein describing models he could meet, promising to send photos.
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