The San Francisco-born model has launched a lawsuit against the former boss of a top model agency for allegedly sexually assaulting and trafficking her to wealthy men when she's 17.
- Aug 14, 2021
AceShowbiz - Former supermodel Carre Sutton has slapped her ex-model agency boss, Gerald Marie, with a lawsuit, alleging he raped her when she was a teenager.
The stunner, formerly Carre Otis, filed legal papers on Thursday (12Aug21) in New York's Manhattan federal court, claiming the former chief of Elite Model Management in Paris, France repeatedly raped her at his apartment when she was only 17.
The documents, obtained by The Guardian, also include allegations Marie "trafficked" Sutton "to other wealthy men around Europe for purposes wholly unrelated to modelling."
Sutton, now 52, used a special legal exemption to file her suit in the state - the New York's Child Victims Act - which allows adult survivors of childhood sexual assaults to take action against the perpetrators, no matter how long ago the reported incidents occurred.
The allegations against Marie are not the first - multiple former models signed to his agency have made serious claims, with French police officers previously inviting at least 11 women to share their awful experiences.
Carre claims Marie plied her with cocaine, which he also gave to his then-girlfriend, fellow supermodel Linda Evangelista and then raped her every time she left the apartment, alleging he did this "repeatedly over the span of months."
Sharing her memory of one of the sexual assaults during a press conference on Friday (13Aug21), Carre explained, "The shock and dissociation of the attack stayed with me for many, many years. I had to become tough and truly dissociate to survive what happened to me in Paris, from the initial ongoing assaults and then to be looked at as an object in the industry."
Evangelista has previously shared her support for all the women who have made claims against Marie, applauding their "courage and strength."
"Based on my own experiences, I believe these women are telling the truth," she said.
Sutton noted she is acting now "on behalf of all the other survivors" and in the hope they "feel that there is safety in coming forward."
Lesa Amoore, who has also claimed Marie sexually assaulted and harassed her, was on hand to support Carre.
"This is a big day and a first step," the 1990s model said. "Standing in solidarity with Carre, I believe all victims of sexual abuse deserve the opportunity to file a case. The fact that many of the same abusers and enablers are still in the fashion industry today that were when I was a model is a major problem."
Marie's representatives have yet to comment on Sutton's suit but he has always denied the allegations levelled against him, while his attorneys previously said their client was "extremely affected" by the claims, which "he contests with the utmost firmness."
