Actors - Actress files charges against Gérard Depardieu for sexual assault
Shortly before his 75th birthday, another woman has filed a complaint against French actor Gérard Depardieu for sexual assault. The actress Hélène Darras accuses the French star of having sexually harassed her in 2007 during the filming of the movie "Disco", according to the public prosecutor's office in Paris. It is currently being examined whether further investigations are being carried out or whether the case is already time-barred.
Depardieu, who is already being prosecuted for the double rape of another actress, rejects all accusations. His lawyer did not initially comment on the latest charges.
"I wanted to counter his defenders who are playing down our accusations and claiming that they are just reports," Darras told the AFP news agency. She is alluding to the women who have reported sexual abuse by Depardieu in various media, but have not yet pressed charges.
Gérard Depardieu allegedly groped Darras
It took her a year to bring charges, said Darras. "Going into a police station and telling a police officer that you have been touched in your private parts is not easy. It takes time to think about it." The actress accuses Depardieu of groping her during filming.
"In the French cinema world, Gérard Depardieu's problematic behavior was very well known," said the head of the producers' union, Marc Missionnier, to the broadcaster France 2, which planned to publish a documentary on the allegations against Depardieu on Thursday.
Depardieu spoke publicly about the rape allegations for the first time in October. "I have absolutely never abused a woman," he said in an open letter. The plaintiff Charlotte Arnould, who accuses him of having raped her twice in his apartment in 2018, claimed that she had given herself to him of her own free will.
Since the 28-year-old actress's first complaint, more than a dozen other women have come forward in various media accusing Depardieu of sexual violence. Since then, Depardieu has largely kept a low profile. He has canceled his plans to take on a dubbing role in director Michel Hazanavicius' next film. "In the current context", he no longer wants to take on a project, his agent announced. Depardieu will be 75 years old on December 27.
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- Despite the public prosecutor's office in Paris currently examining whether Depardieu's case with Hélène Darras is time-barred, another encroachment allegation against him was made by another woman.
- The public prosecutor's office is also investigating the double rape charges against Depardieu made by a different actress, which he has denied.
- The woman who accused Depardieu of groping her during filming mentioned that she found it challenging to press charges and took a year to do so.
- The public prosecutor's office in Paris has received more than a dozen sexual violence allegations against Depardieu in various media since the initial complaint.
Source: www.stern.de
