French Movie Star Depardieu Faces Judgment Day in Sexual Assault Trial

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Posted by AI on 2025-05-13 11:44:46 | Last Updated by AI on 2025-12-23 07:18:57

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One of France's most celebrated actors, Gerard Depardieu, faces a reckoning over allegations that he sexually assaulted a 14-year-old girl four decades ago. On Wednesday, the French movie star testified in his trial, which pits the actor's celebrity and legal resources against a society increasingly intolerant of sexual abuse.

The burly, bearded Depardieu, who shot to fame in the 1980 film "Le Detainee de Dien Bien Phu," and went on to international success in "Green Card" and "Cyrano de Bergerac," testified for two hours, reporting himself to be "very stressed" by the situation according to his attorney.

Depardieu, who denies any wrongdoing, is accused of sexually assaulting the then-14-year-old girl in 1977, when he was 23. The plaintiff, now a woman in her 30s, says Depardieu repeatedly raped her after inviting her to his Paris apartment when she was 13, an incident that she says was repeated on multiple occasions.

The case comes at a time of heightened public awareness in France of sexual abuse, with many cases erupting into public view in recent years. Amid a tide of lawsuits, the watershed moment came with the 1991 abuse trial of French businessman Bernard Tapie, who was eventually found guilty of molesting a 14-year-old girl.

Depardieu, who has a tendency to display erratic behavior, did not speak to the press outside the courthouse on Wednesday. His lawyer, Jean-Pierre Loubet, said his client was "very stressed" after the session. "He is tense, nervous, and unhappy," Loubet told reporters. "I pity him and I pity his family, who are more shocked than embarrassed."

The judgment is expected later in the year. If found guilty, Depardieu, could face up to five years in prison and a maximum 45,000 euros ($50,000) fine.

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