French Prosecutors Call For Gerard Depardieu To Stand Trail On Rape Allegations (X image @SlavaVan)
French actor Gerard Depardieu was asked to stand trial for the alleged rape of actress. Prosecutor’s request came ahead of another case against him, which is set to be heard in October. Depardieu has been under investigation, after actress Charlotte Arnould said he raped and assaulted her on two occasions in 2018, at his Paris home. A judge has yet to decide on the trial request.
Arnould brought charges against Depardieu in 2020. The latter denied the allegations. Arnould’s lawyer Carine Durrieu-Diebolt called the request a “huge step forward towards a trial,” noting that Arnould “is now impatiently awaiting the end of the investigation”, as quoted by French channel BFMTV.
Taking to her X account, Arnould said, “This gives me hope for what’s next, even though I’m staying extremely cautious” before the magistrate’s decision.
Je suis extrêmement soulagée et émue de ce renvoi devant la cour criminelle.. ça me donne de l’espoir pour la suite bien que je reste évidemment prudente en attendant l’ordonnance de la juge d’instruction.
Merci pour vos mots.. de votre soutien.. pic.twitter.com/BHF9dZee79— Charlotte Arnould #Artiste (@CharloteArnould) August 22, 2024
The actress alleges that Depardieu, who is a friend of her father, raped her on two separate occasions, in summer 2018, when she visited him to ask for advice. She was 22 years-old at that time, while Depardieu was 69.
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After several legal wrangling, including Depardieu’s failed attempt to get the case dismissed, a Parisian investigating judge indicted the actor for rape and sexual assault, releasing him without judicial supervision.
Although an investigation was opened into the case in 2019, in dropped as the investigators could not amble evidences. However, she was able to push the case in 2020.
In April this year, the prosecutor’s office confirmed that Depardieu will stand trial in another sexual assault case, which was brought by two women who claimed that the actor assaulted them on set of the French film The Green Shutters in 2021. Trial of the case is to be heard in 2021.
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The Green Card actor denied all the wrongdoings in these cases, and other sexual assault accusations brought against him in recent years. In an open letter that was published in Le Figaro – newspaper widely perceived as conservative – he said his acts had been misinterpreted.
