French actor Gérard Depardieu convicted of sexual assault

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Paris — French cinema icon Gérard Depardieu was convicted Tuesday of sexually assaulting 2 women connected a movie acceptable successful Paris successful 2021 and handed an 18-month suspended sentence. The 76-year-old histrion had denied the charges that helium forcefully groped a acceptable decorator and an adjunct shaper connected the acceptable of "Les Volets Verts" ("The Green Shutters").

Depardieu was not successful tribunal for the verdict oregon sentencing connected Tuesday, arsenic he's presently filming successful Portugal. His lawyer said helium would entreaty the verdict.

Depardieu was accused by a acceptable designer, 34, and an adjunct producer, 54, who said the histrion grabbed and groped them during filming successful Paris successful August and September 2021.

Taking the basal successful March for the archetypal time, Depardieu told the tribunal helium was thing similar the antheral described by the 2 women.

"I don't spot wherefore I would grope a woman, her buttocks, her breasts," helium said. "I'm not idiosyncratic who rubs himself up against radical connected the metro."

The 2 women did not instantly study the alleged offenses, but aft the Depardieu published an unfastened missive successful Le Figaro paper successful October 2023 successful which helium stated: "Never, ne'er person I abused a woman," the acceptable decorator went to the police. She reported Depardieu for alleged intersexual assault, intersexual harassment and sexist insults.

The proceedings opened successful October, but it was adjourned owed to Depardieu's failing health. His lawyer told the tribunal successful March that Depardieu was diabetic and had undergone a quadruple-bypass bosom surgery.

Medical experts aboriginal deemed him acceptable to be the trial, but constricted the hearings to six hours per day, with a proviso for 15-minute pauses if Depardieu needed them.

"Gérard Depardieu is idiosyncratic who is precise free, who tin beryllium highly direct," said his lawyer Jérémie Assous, who dismissed the accusations arsenic "lies."

Dozens of protesters, mostly women, gathered extracurricular the courthouse successful March, denouncing what they called endemic sexism and impunity for enactment offenders successful French cinema and French society. They said they were pleased the histrion was yet successful tribunal to reply the allegations, and waved placards with messages including: "Victims, we judge you; rapists, we spot you"; "Touch one, you reply to all."

A elephantine of French cinema, Depardieu has been much infamous than celebrated successful caller years. He's been accused of intersexual misconduct by much than a twelve women successful the movie industry. Many of the claims surfaced years aft the alleged incidents took place, however, truthful nether French instrumentality the histrion cannot beryllium tried for them.

In a high-profile move, the histrion near his autochthonal France for a fewer years astir a decennary ago, moving to Belgium, having criticized French taxation increases.

Depardieu has been unfastened astir his admiration for Russia nether autocratic President Vladimir Putin, who bestowed Russian citizenship connected him successful 2013.

He aboriginal besides became a national of Dubai.

Elaine Cobbe

Elaine Cobbe is simply a CBS News analogous based successful Paris. A seasoned writer with much than 20 years of acquisition covering planetary events, Cobbe reports for CBS News' television, vigor and integer platforms.

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