FILE PHOTO: U.S. financier Jeffrey Epstein appears in a photograph taken for the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services' sex offender registry March 28, 2017 and obtained by Reuters July 10, 2019. New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services/Handout/File Photo via REUTERS

PARIS (Reuters) - Three alleged victims have come forward in a French investigation into whether late U.S. financier Jeffrey Epstein committed any sex crimes in France, the Paris prosecutor’s office said on Wednesday.

The people were questioned in recent weeks, it said. A broader appeal for further potential victims to get in touch with investigators has now been launched on social media, the prosecutor’s office added.

The chief prosecutor in Paris opened a preliminary inquiry to determine Epstein had committed any sex crimes on French territory or against any underage French victims in late August.

Epstein had pleaded not guilty to U.S. charges of sex trafficking involving dozens of underage girls as young as 14. He died on Aug. 10 in his jail cell in Manhattan at the age of 66. An autopsy report concluded he had hanged himself.