French movie star Gerard Despardou was given an 18-month suspended jail sentence by a Paris court docket on Tuesday for committing sexual assault on two ladies on the set of the movie he starred in.
He was additionally fined a complete of 29,040 euros (roughly $32,350), and the court docket requested that he be registered within the nationwide intercourse offenders database.
The 76-year-old actor was convicted in 2021 for exploring a 54-year-old set dresser and a 34-year-old assistant whereas filming “Les Volets Vers” (The Green Shotters). The incident was extensively seen as an essential posttest of how French society and its movie trade are working to mitigate sexual misconduct, together with well-known figures.
French actor Gerard Despardou was charged with rape and sexual assault in a 2018 incident
Depardou, who denied the fees, didn’t attend the listening to in Paris. Depardieu’s lawyer stated his consumer would attraction the choice.
“It’s a victory for 2 ladies, nevertheless it’s a victory for all ladies past this trial,” stated Carine Durrieu Diebolt, a lawyer for the set dresser. “Today, we wish to see the top of the immunity of artists within the movie world. With this choice, we can not say that he’s not a sexual abuser.
Actor Gerald Despardou arrives to face trial on suspicion of sexual assault of two ladies in a 2021 movie set in Paris on March 24, 2021. (Photo by Aurelien Morissard/AP)
More than 20 ladies have been accused
Depardieu’s lengthy and celebratory profession — who instructed the court docket he revamped 250 movies — stated he had remodeled him right into a French cinema titan. He was nominated for an Oscar in 1991 and carried out as swordsman and poet Cyrano de Bergerac.
In current years, the actor has been accused of official or formal complaints about fraud by greater than 20 ladies, however to this point, solely sexual assault instances have progressed to court docket. Several different instances have been eliminated on account of lack of proof and restrictions legal guidelines.
At the four-day trial in March, Depardieu refused to file costs, and he stated, “Not.” He admitted to utilizing vulgar and sexual language on the movie set and grabbing the set dresser’s hips throughout dialogue, however denied that his actions have been sexual.
Jean-Claude Van Damme returns to “grotesque” intercourse trafficking allegations
The court docket consisted of a panel of three judges, and concluded that Depardieu’s rationalization within the court docket was “condemnational” and “unreliable”, highlighting each the accuser’s “fixed, repeated, and demonstrated declarations.”
The court docket additionally stated each plaintiffs face “offensive” defence methods based mostly on feedback geared toward angering them. The decide subsequently believed that Depardieu’s lawyer’s feedback within the court docket had aggravated the hurt to the accuser and justified the upper fines.
Depardieu’s lawyer, Jérémie Assous, stated the court docket “remured that it was a further assault to lift doubt on the fees.
From left, plaintiff’s lawyer Claude Vincent, lawyer Catherine Le Magrecet, plaintiff and plaintiff’s lawyer Karine Dury Dary Dary Dyborte converse to media exterior the courts in Paris. 2025. (AP Photo/Thomas Padilla)
The two accusers testified in court docket.
The dresser on set defined the alleged assault, saying that the actor had flipped her between his legs as he squeezed previous him in a slender hallway.
She stated he grabbed her by her hips after which started to “pinch” her again and “entrance.” She ran her fingers close to the butt, hips and pubic space to indicate what she was allegedly experiencing. She stated he grabbed her breasts.
The girl additionally testified that Depardieu used an indecent look on her to ask her to the touch his penis, suggesting that he wished to rape her. She instructed the court docket that the actor’s light and supportive angle throughout trial didn’t resemble his habits at work.
The French discovered responsible in a horrific rape trial that shocked the world
Another plaintiff, assistant, stated Depardieu groped her ass and breasts in three separate incidents on the movie set.
The Associated Press is not going to be recognized by anybody who says he has been sexually assaulted until he agrees that the title is not going to be named. Neither girl has executed so on this case, however agreed to be portrayed.
“I’m very moved,” Set Dresser, one of many plaintiffs, instructed reporters after the decision. “I’m very happy with this choice. It’s a victory for me, a very huge development, and I’m going to take it a step ahead. I really feel that justice has been executed.”
Actor Gerard Despardoux is posing for the photographer throughout a photograph name of the Film Valley on the 68th International Film Festival in Cannes, Cannes, Cannes and Cannes on Friday, May 22, 2015.
Some have expressed assist for Depardieu
Several figures within the French movie trade have expressed their assist for Despardieu. Actors Vincent Perez and Fanny Ardant have been amongst those that took their seats on the courtroom.
French media reported final week that Despardieu was filming an Ardant directed movie in Portugal’s Azores.
Actors could must face different authorized procedures instantly.
In 2018, actor Charlotte accused her of raping her at his house. The case continues to be energetic, and in August 2024 prosecutors demanded it go to trial.
For greater than half a century, Depardou stood as a towering determine in French cinema, a Titan recognized for his bodily being, intuition, sensibility and memorable versatility.
Click right here to get the Fox News app
Depardou, a Bon Vivant who overcomes speech obstacles and disturbed youth, turned distinguished within the Seventies and have become one among France’s most prolific and acclaimed actors, portraying an enormous variety of characters, starting from unstable outsiders to deeply introspective figures.
His actions in the direction of ladies have been present process new scrutiny in recent times, together with after the documentary confirmed repeated indecent remarks and gestures throughout his 2018 journey to North Korea.