ICYMI: Former First Lady of France Carla Bruni Calls to Eliminate French Statutes of Limitation for Sex Abuse

NEW YORK, NY (09/13/2021) (readMedia)-- In an exclusive interview with the Sunday Times UK published this week, the former First Lady of France and supermodel Carla Bruni voiced her support for her colleague Carré Otis as she traveled to Paris last week and testified against her abuser former President of Elite Europe Gérald Marie. The former First Lady also said that statutes of limitation for sex abuse in France should be elminated. Survivors of child sex abuse in France have 30 years to report their abuse, and survivors who were 18 or older at the time of abuse have 20.

Former First Lady of France + Supermodel Carla Bruni said, "When you are able to speak out, it is transformative. You go from being a victim to someone who is in control. That's why I'm supporting Carré... What I really feel is there shouldn't be a time limit for sexual abuse allegations, because often the victims are very young... There shouldn't be a time limit because otherwise many victims wouldn't be in a position to be able to fight for justice."

Bruni continued, "It could have happened to me... It is an industry with a lot of young people, a lot of young flesh, for predators. I think it is an industry where the mentality has to change. There is no regulation. It is a very dangerous business, it is like acting. It attracts, I would say, young and fragile people. That needs to be recognized."

Last week, Bruni was joined by fellow supermodels Milla Jovovich, Tatjana Patitz, Karen Elson, Paulina Porizkova and others who spoke out last week in support of Carré and the survivors testifying, as the New York Times reported.

Carré was 17 when she was scouted and then sent from New York to Paris to live with Marie, where she was repeatedly raped by him. Marie's behavior was known throughout Elite when she was sent to France. She has standing to sue in New York, where lawmakers, recognizing the science of trauma, passed legislation known as the Child Victims Act two years ago, which provided a multi-year lookback window for survivors of child sex abuse to file a civil case against their abusers, even if they are outside of the statute of limitations. By sheer chance of being the right age in the right state, Carré was able to file a civil case in New York last month against Marie and the agent who sent her to live with him before the Child Victims Act lookback window closed.

The Model Alliance is now pushing the NYS Legislature to pass the Adult Survivors Act, which would give time-barred survivors who were over 18 at the time of their abuse a one-year lookback window to sue their abusers -- or the institution that protected them -- in civil court. New York would become the second state after New Jersey to open a civil lookback window to survivors of adult sex abuse. The State Senate passed the Adult Survivors Act in June, but the Assembly has yet to do so.

Carré, a member of the Model Alliance's Leadership Council, still models and is represented by Iconic Focus Models, an all women-owned agency.