Gerard Depardieu will face a felony trial later this yr over the alleged sexual assaults of two girls on a film set in 2021, French prosecutors say.
French media had reported that the 75-year-old actor – who has denied any wrongdoing – had been questioned by police in Paris on Monday.
Depardieu’s lawyer Christian Saint-Palais later declined to remark to reporters apart from to say that the actor was now not in custody.
The Paris public prosecutor’s workplace stated in a press release that the actor has been “summoned to look earlier than the felony court docket” after the questioning.
It stated the trial will begin in October “for sexual assaults more likely to have been dedicated in September 2021” towards “two victims, on the set of the movie The Inexperienced Shutters”.
In February, the French actor confronted a grievance of sexual assault from a feminine film decorator alleging he groped her throughout filming in 2021, kneading her waist, stomach, and breasts throughout filming for the film Les Volets Verts, a title that interprets to The Inexperienced Shutters in English.
In the meantime, final yr, a French web site revealed claims from 13 different girls who labored with Depardieu and stated that they had skilled inappropriate advances, groping and gestures.
Depardieu was handed preliminary rape and sexual assault prices in 2020 following allegations from actress Charlotte Arnould.
In that case, the investigating choose accomplished his investigation on 17 April and transferred the file to the Paris public prosecutor’s workplace “to overview and decide subsequent steps within the continuing,” in keeping with the prosecutor’s workplace.
In October final yr, Depardieu wrote an open letter to Le Figaro – one among France’s best-known publications – to disclaim the claims of rape and sexual assault made towards him.
In it, he stated he had “by no means, ever abused a lady” and that “hurting a lady can be like kicking my very own mom within the abdomen”.
He has beforehand denied all of the claims towards him by way of a lawyer.
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A world ambassador for French movie, Depardieu is amongst France‘s most well-known stars, recognized for movies equivalent to Cyrano de Bergerac and Jean de Florette – in addition to the Hollywood hits Inexperienced Card and The Man In The Iron Masks.
He has appeared in 200 movies over six many years and is amongst a number of French actors who’ve made a reputation for themselves in Hollywood.
This newest episode involving Depardieu comes as French cinema is rocked by a belated #MeToo awakening, following the 2017 world motion.
In February, French actress Judith Godreche made an impassioned speech throughout the Cesar Awards – which is France’s model of the Oscars – for the French movie business to “face the reality” on sexual violence and bodily abuse.