French actor Gérard Depardieu has been ordered to stand trial over allegations of rape and sexual assault in 2018. His accuser, actor Charlotte Arnould, said she was relieved the case was going to court, seven years after she filed a complaint.
Depardieu, 76, has denied the charges, insisting his relationship with Arnould was consensual. He was convicted in May of sexually assaulting two members of a film production crew and placed on a list of sex offenders, but did not receive a jail sentence.
Seven years later, seven years of horror and hell... I think I'm having trouble realizing how huge this is. I'm relieved, Arnould wrote in a social media post.
Arnould's lawyer confirmed that Depardieu has been ordered to stand trial for the alleged assault and rape by digital penetration of Arnould on two occasions at his Paris home in August 2018.
My client and I are relieved and confident. This is a form of judicial truth for Charlotte while she awaits the criminal trial, said her lawyer. The trial's date has not yet been set.
In a letter published in Le Figaro in 2023, Depardieu stated: Never, ever, have I abused a woman. There was never any coercion, violence, or protest between us. They referred to Arnould as part of his defense.
The case had initially been dismissed for insufficient evidence, but a judicial investigation was opened in summer 2020 after Arnould submitted a civil complaint.
