French actor Gerard Depardieu is speaking out after the public heard that he had been charged with rape and sexual assault in December in a case that was revived by authorities in 2018.
The 72-year-old Depardieu lodged the preliminary complaint on December 16, but was not detained at the time. The prosecutor’s office dealt with the charges on Tuesday after the update on the case was leaked to French media.
The actor’s lawyer, Hervé Temime, issued a statement to Fox News on the charges in which he maintains his client’s innocence in the case.
‘Mr. Depardieu was charged in December 2020, information that has since remained secret, in accordance with French law, ‘the statement said. “This information was released yesterday, which is regrettable. An investigating judge is in charge of this file.”
FRENCH ACTOR GERARD DEPARDIEU CHARGED WITH CONSIDERED RAPE AND SEXUAL ATTACK FROM 2018
Temime added: “Mr Depardieu is and is considered innocent. He strongly disputes the allegations against him. The investigation must continue in calm, secrecy and respect for Mr Depardieu’s suspicion of innocence.”
French actor Gerard Depardieu has spoken out after it became known that he was charged with rape and sexual assault.
(AP)
French media reports say the charges are related to the allegations made by an actress in her twenties and date from 2018. An initial investigation against the star was dropped in 2019 due to a lack of evidence, but is later revived.
FRENCH ACTOR GERARD DEPARDIEU ACCUSED OF RAPE
The French newspaper Le Parisien and the broadcaster BFM TV said that the woman claimed that Depardieu assaulted her on 7 August and 13 August 2018 in his house in Paris. The two met when Depardieu led a master class at her school, reports BFM TV.
The unnamed actress first filed a complaint detailing alleged rape and assault in August 2018 in the southern French city of Aix-en-Provence. The investigation was taken over by the Paris investigators, but was soon abandoned.
CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR OUR ENTERTAINMENT NEWSLETTER
Depardieu is one of France’s most productive actors and among the few who ventured outside French cinema and made their name in Hollywood. He won a Golden Globe for his performance in ‘Green Card’, a 1990 English-language romantic comedy starring Andie MacDowell.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
Before crossing the Atlantic to play ‘Green Card’, Depardieu played a variety of roles, ranging from Jean Valjean, the thief-saint in ‘Les Miserables’ to Christopher Columbus. He has appeared in about 200 films over six decades.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.