French actor Gerard Depardieu might be tried subsequent October for alleged sexual assaults in opposition to two ladies throughout a 2021 movie shoot, the Paris public prosecutor says.
Depardieu, certainly one of France’s prime film stars, has been on the centre of a rising variety of sexual assault allegations in recent times which have tarnished his legacy and uncovered broader divisions about sexual conduct in France.
Depardieu, who has been questioned by the police throughout a lot of the day, has constantly denied any wrongdoing.
One of his legal professionals, Christian Saint-Palais, instructed BFM TV that the actor had been launched with out cost.
The public prosecutor mentioned the actor was additionally indicted for one more case, courting again to August 2018, of alleged sexual assault and rape.
The choose closed investigations on that case and has handed it over to the Paris public prosecutor.
A supply instructed Reuters Depardieu was additionally accused of alleged groping on a 2014 movie set.
Depardieu’s case has divided the French society, with some ladies viewing it as an emblem of the nation’s lack of ability to deal with sexual abuse by highly effective males within the wake of the MeToo motion.
Others, together with French President Emmanuel Macron and several other well-known actors, have rallied to Depardieu’s defence.
“He’s an immense actor, a genius of his art,” Macron mentioned late final yr.
“He makes France proud.”
https://thewest.com.au/news/crime/depardieu-to-be-tried-in-october-over-alleged-assaults-c-14489349