French actor Gerard Depardieu has lost an appeal to drop rape and sexual assault charges he faces over two alleged incidents in 2018.
On Thursday, the Paris Court of Appeal released a decision that ruled there are compelling grounds on which to continue an investigation into alleged rape and sexual assaults that occurred in August 2018 at his Paris home.
“The Paris Court of Appeal believes, at this point, there is serious and confirmed evidence to justify that Gerard Depardieu remains indicted,” Paris chief prosecutor Remy Heitz said in a statement obtained by The Hollywood Reporter.
The appeals court’s investigators rejected a May 2021 motion from Depardieu’s legal team that called for the indictment against the French actor to be dropped.
Depardieu was indicted on Dec. 16, 2020, on allegations of rape and sexual assault made by Charlotte Arnould, a French actress, who claims Depardieu twice raped and assaulted her at his Paris home in August 2018.
The case now returns to an investigating judge. The Paris appeals court, in not dropping the indictment, opens the way for Depardieu to either go to trial on the charges he faces or see them dismissed.
Depardieu, one of France’s most iconic and prolific names in cinema, with approximately 170 titles on his C.V., was nominated for an Oscar for his role in the 1990 film Cyrano de Bergerac, which also earned him Cannes and César honors.
Source: Hollywood
