- French film director Benoît Jacquot faces preliminary charges including rape, sexual assault and violence following an investigation.
- The accusations against Jacquot follow accusations made by several actresses, including Judith Godrèche and Isild Le Besco.
- Godrèche, who started the #MeToo movement in France, alleges that Jacquot raped and abused her from the age of 14.
A prominent French film director has been preliminarily charged with rape, sexual assault and violence by a French judge investigating a case involving actresses, the Paris prosecutor's office said Thursday.
Benoît Jacquot, who has more than 50 directing credits in film and television, has become one of the leading figures in a belated reckoning within the French film industry and beyond over sexual violence and physical abuse.
French actress Judith Godrèche, who alleges that Jacquot raped and physically abused her during a six-year relationship that began when she was 14, has taken a leading role in driving the #MeToo wave. The movement struggled to gain traction before she spoke out publicly earlier this year and encouraged other actresses to do so as well.
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The Paris prosecutor's office said the judge is investigating allegations against Jacquot made by actress Isild Le Besco and another actress. The judge handed him a series of preliminary charges on Wednesday after he was detained earlier this week for questioning by police. In France, such charges are brought when a magistrate has determined there is serious and accumulating evidence indicating crimes may have been committed, allowing for further investigation before making a decision on whether or not to prosecute.
Benoit Jacquot attends the German premiere of the film “3 Coeurs” during the 14th French Film Week at Kino International on December 4, 2014 in Berlin, Germany. Jacquot has been preliminarily charged with rape, sexual assault and violence by a French judge investigating a case involving several actresses, the Paris prosecutor's office said on Thursday. (Clemens Bilan/Getty Images)
The AP does not typically identify victims of sexual assault. Le Besco, 41, has spoken publicly on French television and in other media and in a book about her relationship with the director, which began when she was a teenager and who is 35 years her senior.
A statement from the prosecution said Jacquot was charged with the alleged rape of Le Besco when she was a minor, over a two-year period starting in 1998. Jacquot was also named as an assisted witness, a special status under French law, for the alleged rape of Le Besco by her partner over a 10-month period in 2007.
The AP could not confirm whether the other actress named by the Paris prosecutor's office as another alleged victim of rape by Jacquot consented to be publicly identified. The actress's lawyer, Margot Pugliese, did not immediately respond to written and telephone requests for comment.
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Prosecutors said Jacquot was accused of raping the actress over a one-year period in 2013, when they were in a relationship. He was also charged with allegedly sexually assaulting the actress when they were still together in 2018 and alleged violence against her in 2018 and 2019.
Jacquot was also named as a witness in connection with the alleged rape of the actress by her partner between 2014 and 2018, the prosecution said.
Jacquot will remain free pending further investigation but has been ordered to undergo psychological treatment, prosecutors said. He has also been banned from contacting his alleged victims and witnesses. He is also barred from working as a director or in any capacity with minors. He has also been ordered to post bail of 25,000 euros ($27,000).
Jacquot, 77, has previously denied the allegations against him. In a statement that did not directly address the charges, Jacquot's lawyer Julia Minkowski said the case had suffered from overexposure in the media and that the director was not given access to evidence when questioned by police, even though French law allows that to happen “in cases of flagrant violations of the presumption of innocence.”
“The investigation is in its early stages and it was particularly premature to present it to an investigating judge,” the lawyer's statement said.
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He condemned the ban preventing Jacquot from working as a director, which also includes restrictions on his public appearances.
“Rather than a professional ban, this is a genuine measure of judicial annulment, based on an embryonic investigation and prior to any sentence. We will obviously appeal,” he said.
Another French director, Jacques Doillon, 80, was also detained for questioning by police but was later released for medical reasons, the Paris prosecutor's office said.
Godrèche accused Doillon of sexual abuse while he was directing a film when she was 15. Doillon had previously denied the accusation.
