Carré Sutton Sues Former Modeling Boss Gérald Marie for Allegedly Raping Her at 17

Carré Sutton, who rose to fame as a model and actress in the 1980s and ‘90s under the name Carré Otis, has filed a lawsuit against former modeling agency boss Gérald Marie, alleging that he raped her repeatedly when she was 17 years old.

Marie, who for a long time served as Elite Model Management’s European chief, is already under criminal investigation in France, The New York Times reports. Investigators have met with at least 11 of the women who have accused him of sexual misconduct and assault. Sutton—who has been public about her claims regarded Marie’s treatment of her for the past decade, having broken her silence in 2011 memoir Beauty Disrupted—has reportedly arranged to speak with French authorities in September.

Sutton’s lawsuit is separate from the French investigation, however. According to this suit, which the former model filed in Manhattan federal court on Thursday, Marie forced a then-underage Sutton to live with him in his Paris apartment while she was ostensibly abroad for work. Once there, she says that he sexually assaulted her multiple times. He also “trafficked” her “to other wealthy men around Europe,” Sutton claims.

“It became clearer and clearer to me that if I did push back, I would not work,” Sutton told Times columnist Ginia Bellafante.

Sutton’s suit also names her former booking agent, Trudy Tapscott, whom she says negligently enabled Marie’s exploitation and abuse.

As The Guardian explains, Sutton filed her lawsuit under New York state’s Child Victims Law, which allows survivors of childhood sexual abuse to sue their abusers no matter how long ago the abuse happened. Sutton’s suit is one of the thousands filed since the law was enacted two years ago. Another suit filed under the law—the deadline under which to file claims was this past Friday at midnight—was one by Epstein accuser Virginia Roberts Guiffre against Prince Andrew, who, she says, repeatedly sexually abused her when she was 17.