French actor Gerard Depardieu was charged with rape and sexual assault in December in a 2018 case that was revived by authorities.
The Paris prosecutor’s office told The Associated Press on Tuesday that Depardieu had not been detained when he received the preliminary charge on December 16.
The prosecutor’s office dealt with the charges after the case was leaked to French media.
According to French media reports, the allegations relate to allegations of an actress in her 20s dating back to 2018. An initial investigation against the star was dropped in 2019 for lack of evidence, but was later revived.
FRENCH ACTOR GERARD DEPARDIEU ACCUSED OF RAPE
French newspaper Le Parisien and broadcaster BFM TV said the woman claimed Depardieu attacked her at his home in Paris on August 7 and 13, 2018. The two met when Depardieu was conducting a masterclass at her school, BFM TV reported.
The actress, who has not been named, first filed a complaint in August 2018, detailing allegations of rape and sexual assault in the southern French city of Aix-en-Provence. The probe was acquired by Paris researchers, but was soon dropped.
The Paris prosecutor’s office said Tuesday, in response to the allegations after they were leaked to the French press, saying French actor Gerard Depardieu had been charged with preliminary charges of rape and sexual assault on December 16, 2020, without the actor being detained.
(AP Photo / Thibault Camus, File)
Depardieu’s attorney Hervé Temime did not immediately respond to Fox News’ request for comment, but he has previously said that the actor “denies absolutely every rape, every assault and every crime.”
Depardieu, 72, is one of France’s best known and most controversial stars.
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He has appeared in 200 films in six decades and is one of the few French actors to make a name for himself in Hollywood. He won a Golden Globe for his performance in “Green Card,” a 1990 English-language romantic comedy starring Andie MacDowell.
His first big hit in France was “Les Valseuses” (“Going Places”), Bertrand Blier’s classic farce about two itinerant criminals.
Before crossing the Atlantic to star in “Green Card”, Depardieu played a series of roles ranging from Jean Valjean, the thief who became a saint in “Les Miserables”, to Christopher Columbus.
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In 2014, he starred in “Welcome to New York”, the film inspired by the life of Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the former International Monetary Fund director accused in 2011 of sexually assaulting a hotel maid.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.