The 53-year-old model is one of at least 11 women to have come forward to accuse the former European head of Elite modelling agency of sexual misconduct.
- Jun 21, 2022
AceShowbiz - Carre Sutton, formerly known as Carre Otis, claims she was sexually assaulted "sometimes several times a week" by Gerald Marie. Known as Carre Otis earlier in her career, the 53-year-old model is one of at least 11 women to have come forward to accuse the former European head of Elite modelling agency of sexual misconduct. She's now spoken about her ordeal in a new documentary.
Speaking on "Scouting For Girls: Fashion's Darkest Secret", Carre revealed how the alleged rapes happened over a period in 1986 when Marie's then-wife Linda Evangelista was out of town. "He basically forced himself on me and raped me," she recounted. "I remember being so devastated and terrified."
She insisted she would be "happy to go face to face" in court with the fashion executive, who has denied all the allegations against him, after filing a lawsuit in New York, and she believes there are more women like her who have not come forward. She claimed, "I'm in this for justice.
"I'm in this to protect workers' rights, I'm in this for equality, I'm in this to heal what has happened to me and so many other survivors who were totally innocent," she continued. "I'm in this to see industry change and I'm in this to address statute of limitation reform. This has not been a walk in the park. This has been one of the more challenging two years of my life."
The "Wild Orchid" actress thinks it is "outrageous" that there is so little protection in place for young models. Speaking with Sky News, she said, "I don't think perpetrators just flip a switch. The reason I came forward is that I have daughters. I don't want them to have to normalise what I normalised for so long."
"It's still a completely unregulated industry that's working with minors mostly, and young adults," she added. "That it's the only industry that's unregulated is outrageous."
In the documentary, Carre claimed she was sent to casting jobs at the home of photographers who were "known perpetrators" and would be ordered to strip. The actress, who was once married to Mickey Rourke and has two children with spouse Matthew Sutton, said, "This was totally normal. They would often go late, late, late into the night. It was really the vulnerable, and the ones that weren't making bank, who were the ones who were preyed on."
Another model in the documentary, Jill Dodd, also alleged she was raped by Marie after a night out in Paris in 1980. She accused her agency, Paris Planning, of "grooming" her after she later discovered her former partner Adnan Khashoggi, a late Saudi arms dealer who was once the richest man in the world, had paid up to $50,000 to them for an introduction to her.
She shared "We were just young, and being taken advantage of, and groomed and sold by our agents. I know for me, I beat myself up over it for years... 'how could I be so stupid? How could I let this happen?' In reality, I had no chance against these powerful men that were 20 years older than me, plotting against me."
Carre was one of at least 11 women who were said to have filed testimonies against Marie in Paris, but France's statute of limitations mean historical sexual abuse allegations must be made within 20 years, or 30 years in the case of minors.
In a statement in the documentary, which will launch on NOW and Sky Documentaries on Friday, June 24, Marie's lawyer said the fashion boss "firmly objects" to the "false allegations made against him." The lawyer added, "He remains calm and refuses to participate in the fallacious and dishonest media controversy that has been fomented more than 30 years later."
