PARS.- He cineasta francs Benot Jacquot He was formally charged this Wednesday with rape of the Actresses Julia Roy and Isild Le Bescosaid the prosecutor contacted by AFP.
Benot Jacquot, 77, was arrested on Monday for questioning by police, as was Jacques Doillon, another well-known film director. The latter was released on Tuesday “for medical reasons” and has not been charged for the time being.
After two days of provisional detention, the septuagenarian Jacquot was charged with raping Julia Roy in 2013 and Isild Le Besco between 1998 and 2000 and with voluntary violence and sexual assault against the former.
Jacquot also received the more favourable status of assisted witness for the spousal rape of Isild le Besco in 2007, and of Julia Roy between 2014 and 2018.
Posture from the Tax Office
The prosecutor had requested that Jacquot be formally charged with: “rape, sexual assault and violence, allegedly committed between 2013 and 2018 against Julia Roy and for rape of a minor by a person in authority, rape by a partner, allegedly committed between 1998 and 2000, and in 2007 against Isild Le Besco.”
“In both cases, the complainants who reported facts not included in the retained charges will be contacted personally,” the prosecutor said.
The preliminary investigation was launched after another actress, Judith Godrèche, filed a complaint against the two filmmakers, who have denied the accusations.
Godrche, 52, accused Jacquot of rape and Doillon of sexual assault in early February, sparking a new wave in the #MeToo movement in French cinema.
Godrèche’s accusations, which called for courage from any woman who had suffered the same type of abuse in the entertainment industry, led to public statements and formal complaints from numerous female workers in the sector in France.
Jacquot’s lawyer, Julia Minkowski, had previously deplored “the incessant attacks” on her client’s presumption of innocence.
The Godrche case
Isild Le Besco, 41, announced his complaint against Jacquot at the end of May.
The actress began in French cinema in the late 1980s. She directed five films under Jacquot: Sade (2000), Adolphe (2002), See you soon (2004), The Untouchable (2006) y Deep in the woods (2010) as a TV movie, Princess Mary (2004).
Julia Roy directed four films under Jacquot’s orders: Never (2016), Eva (2018), Casanova, her last love (2019) y Suzanna Andler three years ago.
The Godrche case dates back nearly 40 years, when the actress was starting out in French cinema.
Jacquot was Godrche’s partner for years, beginning in the spring of 1986. They lived openly together until their separation in 1992.
Godrche’s parents agreed to grant the actress legal emancipation at her request, when she was not yet 18 years old.
The actress now claims that her relationship with Jacquot was one of control and perversion and that she was raped as a result.
As for Doillon, 80, the actress accused him of “sticking his fingers in her panties” during rehearsals for a film released in 1989. At the time she was 15 years old and was in a relationship with Jacquot.
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“These complaints (from Isild Le Besco and Julia Roy) have not expired. The period for which I have complained has expired. But I feel heard through this decision,” Judith Godrche reacted on Instagram.
The French justice system is also investigating other well-known cases, such as that of the 75-year-old actor Grard Depardieu, who has been the subject of several investigations for years.
Depardieu is due to stand trial in October for sexually assaulting two women during a filming in 2021.
The French Parliament had decided to set up a commission of inquiry into sexual violence in the world of performing arts and advertising, which began its work in May, but the call for general elections on 9 June brought its continuation to a screeching halt.
FUENTE: AFP
