PARIS (AP) — French actor gerard depardieu A criminal trial will be held in October on charges of sexually assaulting two women on the set of a movie in 2021, prosecutors announced on Monday.
The 75-year-old actor has previously denied any wrongdoing, but was detained for several hours for police questioning in Paris early Monday. His lawyer, Christian Sampare, later declined to comment to reporters, other than to say the actor was no longer in custody.
The Paris prosecutor’s office said in a statement that the actor was “summoned to appear before a criminal court” after being interrogated.
According to the statement, the trial for “sexual assault believed to have taken place in September 2021” against “two victims on the set of the movie ‘Green Shutters'” is scheduled to begin in October. It is said that The names of the alleged victims were not released.
French newspaper Le Parisien reported that the 53-year-old film decorator was grabbed by Mr. Depardieu during the filming of “Les Vollée Verts” or “Green Shutters” and was injured in the waist, stomach and chest, according to the woman’s lawyer. It was reported that he claimed to have been kneaded. , when Karine Durieux Diebold filed a complaint with the Paris public prosecutor’s office in February.
“I have never abused a woman,” Depardieu said in an open letter last October.
Depardieu has also been accused by more than a dozen other women of harassment, molestation and sexual assault.he was paroled crimes of rape and sexual assault in 2020 following allegations from actor Charlotte Arnold.
A preliminary judge in the case completed the investigation on April 17 and transferred the file to the Paris public prosecutor’s office “to consider and decide on the next steps in the proceedings,” the public prosecutor’s office announced on Monday.
Depardieu has long been considered a national symbol of France. He served as a worldwide ambassador for French cinema and enjoyed international fame with several roles in Hollywood.
The latest episode involving Depardieu comes as the French film industry is abuzz with the #metoo awakening that actor Judith Godreche has called upon the industry. “Face the facts” About sexual violence and physical abuse. She made this appeal during a live broadcast of the César Awards, the French version of the Oscars, held in February.
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Barbara Surk reported from Nice, France. Associated Press writer John Lester in Le Pecque, France, contributed.
