PARIS: Former French model Juliette G. says it took her years to make sense of how she ended up in a New York bedroom with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

The 43-year-old is one of two ex-models who have accused Daniel Siad, a French modelling scout with close ties to the late US financier, of having groomed them with the aim of introducing them to potential abusers.

Their stories come as part of a wider reckoning with rape and sexual assault in the wake of the global MeToo movement in recent years that has seen a number of accusations in France and beyond. “I identified quite a few stages that led me there,” Juliette said.

“These men, through manipulation, conduct tests to see how far a young woman will give in.” For Juliette, who has asked to withhold her surname to protect her privacy, it all started in 2004, when she was 21.

Siad — who denies the accusations against him — approached her in a Paris avenue. She calls this the “targeting” stage. He asked her if she was a model and if she would be interested in “professional opportunities” in the United States.

“I think he was trying to gauge whether I would accept without asking too many questions. Which I did — I let things stay vague so I wouldn’t come across as difficult,” she said. She was soon sent a plane ticket to New York and an address in the city.

Published in Dawn, May 6th, 2026