On Monday, Nov. 4, Carré Sutton, known as Otis, provided an update on Instagram regarding her ongoing lawsuit for sexual abuse against former Elite Model Management executives Gérald Marie and Trudi Tapscott.
“Today, the United States Court of Appeals overturned the dismissal of my case against my abuser, ruling that the New York State Child Victims Act can apply to abuse that happened elsewhere,” Otis, 56, wrote alongside a black-and-white throwback modeling photo.
“This is a huge win not only in my individual pursuit of justice, but for all survivors. I am hugely grateful to every person who supported me along the way,” she added.
She elaborated that New York’s Child Victims Act and the Adult Survivors Act have provided her and others the opportunity to seek accountability from their abusers for the harm inflicted upon them. She also called on New York Gov. Kathy Hochul to endorse the Fashion Worker’s Act to help prevent such abuse from occurring in the future.
“The rampant sexual abuse of young people in the fashion industry has gone largely unchecked for decades, and models continue to work without basic labor protections,” she wrote. “As the fashion capital of the U.S., New York must continue to lead on workers’ and survivors’ rights by making this essential bill law.”
The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit ruled on the dismissal on Monday, stating that Otis “claims that in 1986, shortly after relocating to New York City to pursue a career as a child model with Elite Models Management, Tapscott, an executive at Elite, sent her to Paris to stay with another Elite executive, Marie, who is accused of raping her.”
A model, discovered by an agency at 16, has filed a lawsuit alleging that Tapscott sanctioned a plan for Otis, then 17, to reside with Marie, who faces multiple accusations of sexual assault from various models, as reported by The Guardian.
According to NBC News, citing the lawsuit, Otis claimed that Tapscott did not reveal that she was sending her to reside with a sex offender. She stated that John Casablancas, co-founder of Elite Model Management and who passed away in 2013, approved the plan.
The report indicated that during their time in Paris, Otis thought it would help Marie’s career. She claimed that, instead, she was raped by Marie and trafficked to “other wealthy men around Europe,” according to the complaint.
The legal action asserted that she was “never compensated for her modeling work,” according to NBC News, which further noted that after she began to decline Marie’s sexual propositions upon turning 18, she was reportedly “evicted from his apartment shortly thereafter.”
After the incident, Otis transitioned to a new agency, allowing her to advance her career.