The Supreme Court of Paris decided not to withdraw the charges against Gerard Depardieu for rape and sexual assault.
According to Reauters, the investigating chamber in Paris rejected the request filed by the French actor to stop the investigation against him.
In 2018, a 22-year-old woman was raped by the star of "Asterix and Obelix" and reported him 2 years later, in December 2020, when the #metoo movement reached greater proportions.
However, he denied the charges, with his lawyer, Hervé Temim, stating in February 2021: "The charges against Mr. Depardieu were denounced in December 2020, information that has remained secret since then, in accordance with French law. This information became public yesterday, which is regrettable. Mr Depardieu is and remains innocent. He strongly contests the charges against him. The investigation must continue with calm, secrecy and respect for Mr. Depardieu's presumption of innocence."
An initial investigation into the charges against the 72-year-old actor was unsuccessful due to a lack of evidence, but the investigation was later reopened, assigning criminal charges to Depardieu. According to reports, he raped her twice in his mansion in the sixth arrondissement of Paris. On August 7 and 13, 2018.
As the actor himself had stated, "There is no apocalyptic evidence, there is nothing against me and, therefore, I feel very calm. I can refute all the accusations."
He also explained that he feels sad and embarrassed in the face of a completely unfounded story." Furthermore, he does not understand why the investigation was reopened after it was closed in 2019.
"For me, the investigation has been closed for lack of evidence. In court, I will confirm my innocence. I am innocent and I have nothing to fear," he said, but it seems that the authorities have the opposite view.
Source: protothema.gr
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