Gérard Depardieu: He is charged with sexual assault

Gérard Depardieu (74) faces further allegations. In April of this year, 13 women accused the French actor of sexual assault. Depardieu vehemently denied the allegations and there was no complaint made in this context. Now the actress Hélène Darras has filed a complaint against Depardieu, who is said to have sexually harassed her in 2007 during the filming of the film “Disco”. She was 26 years old at the time.

It is currently being examined whether further investigations should be carried out in the case in view of the statute of limitations. The Paris public prosecutor’s office announced this on Wednesday. Depardieu’s lawyers have not yet commented on the latest allegations.

Hélène Darras: “It takes time to think about it”

Darras, who had already testified before the judiciary against Depardieu, told the AFP news agency: “It took me a year to go from testifying to reporting. […] Going into a police station and telling a police officer that you were touched in your private parts is not easy. It takes time to think about it.”

Her goal now is to “counter something against Depardieu’s defenders who are downplaying our allegations.” She was referring to the 13 women whose allegations became public in April 2023.

The allegations in April 2023

They accused the actor of having behaved inappropriately while filming eleven films over the past 20 years. Depardieu allegedly touched alleged victims inappropriately or made inappropriate comments. The incidents are said to have often occurred in public and on the sets of a total of eleven films that were released between 2004 and 2022. However, no legal action was taken against Depardieu in this context.

It became known in 2018 that preliminary investigations were being carried out against the actor on suspicion of “rape and sexual assault”. Since then, many other alleged victims have come forward. Depardieu vehemently protests his innocence.