France: Gérard Depardieu indicted for rape and sexual assault
Gérard Depardieu: indicted for rape © AFP
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French justice confirms, this Wednesday, March 10, the indictment for "rape" and "sexual assault" of actor Gérard Depardieu.
An actress, then 22 years old, had filed a complaint against him at the end of August 2018 for facts dating back to a few days earlier.
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The investigative chamber of the Paris Court of Appeal considers that there are “
serious or concordant indications which justify
” the indictment of Gérard Depardieu.
The investigation will therefore continue to try to find out precisely what happened in August 2018 in the mansion that the actor owns, within the sixth arrondissement of the capital.
Charlotte Arnould, a 22-year-old actress at the time, claims that Gérard Depardieu – a close friend of her father, whom she has known since childhood – raped her there twice.
The monument of French cinema, 73 years old, still proclaims his innocence.
Judicial adventure
In June 2019, the public prosecutor's office closed the case after nine months of investigation, considering that the offenses could not be characterized.
The young woman then filed a complaint again in August 2020, this time with a civil action.
The reopened investigation, Gérard Depardieu is heard by the investigating judge, then indicted, in December 2020.
The actor of
Cyrano de Bergerac
and
Asterix and Obelix
had requested in May 2021 that the nullity of his indictment be pronounced.
A request rejected by the Attorney General of Paris Rémy Heitz.
"
The file now returns
" to the investigating judge "
for further judicial investigation
", he added.
Present at the Court of Appeal at the time of the deliberation, Charlotte Arnould, obviously moved and accompanied by a relative, did not wish to speak.
"
My client is particularly relieved and confident about the justice that has been rendered today
," reacted to AFP his lawyer, Me Carine Durrieu-Diebolt.
The actor - currently starring in several films - remains free without judicial review.
Asked by AFP, the actor's lawyer, Me Hervé Temime, did not comment.
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