Gerard Depardieu will appear in court on charges of sexual assault

The investigating judge has referred the case against French actor Gérard Depardieu, who is accused of sexual assault allegedly committed in 2018, to the Paris departmental criminal court.

This was reported by Agence France-Presse.

According to their information, the case involves two episodes dated August 7 and 13, 2018. Actress Charlotte Arnould claims that Depardieu harassed her during visits to his Paris apartment and committed sexual assault.

Depardieu himself, in his open letter published in Le Figaro newspaper, indirectly mentioned these events, speaking of a certain "woman" who came to his home "with a light step" and expressed a desire to sing with him. And although there was "neither coercion, nor violence, nor protest" between them, after his refusal, she began to claim that she was raped.

The exact date of the court hearings in this case is not yet known. It should be noted that in the past, the actress had already tried to hold Depardieu accountable, but the court of first instance dismissed the lawsuit, finding no confirmation of the accusations.

In May of this year, a Paris court found Depardieu guilty in a harassment case involving two film industry workers during the filming of "The Green Shutters" (2022). The actor was sentenced to 8 months of suspended imprisonment. The court also ordered the actor to be entered into a database of people who have committed sex crimes and ordered him to be deprived of his right to participate in elections for two years.

The actor was not present at the verdict announcement because at that moment, according to media reports, he was busy filming a movie with Fanny Ardant in Portugal. His lawyer, Jérémy Assous, announced the intention to challenge the verdict in the Court of Appeal.