Filmmaker Benoît Jacquot, accused of sexual violence by actress Judith Godrèche, will be brought before the courts this Wednesday after 48 hours in police custody. He could be charged on this occasion.
Jacques Doillon, also accused by the actress, was released without charge, his lawyer confirmed. The two filmmakers, who deny the accusations, were summoned Monday morning to the Brigade for the Protection of Minors. They were placed in police custody immediately afterwards. They were questioned in an investigation by the Paris prosecutor’s office opened for rape of a minor under 15 by a person in authority, rape, violence by a cohabitant and sexual assault of a minor over 15 by a person in authority.
Jacques Doillon “should have been heard in a free hearing given the age of the facts, their statute of limitations acquired for more than two decades, and the inevitable dismissal without further action which will close this investigation”, contested his lawyer Marie Dosé. For her part, Julia Minkowski, counsel for Benoît Jacquot, deplored “all of these dysfunctions of justice, thanks to an excessive media coverage which leads to unacceptable excesses”.
New storm in the #MeToo of French cinema
The investigation was triggered by Judith Godrèche’s complaint. The 52-year-old actress had publicly accused Benoît Jacquot of rape in early February, then Jacques Doillon of sexual assault, triggering a new storm in the #MeToo movement in French cinema. Benoît Jacquot and Judith Godrèche, born in March 1972, began their relationship in the spring of 1986. They lived openly together until their separation in 1992. For the actress, it was a question of rape in a relationship of “control” and “perversion”. Two other actresses, Isild Le Besco and Julia Roy, have also filed complaints against Benoît Jacquot.
Regarding Jacques Doillon, the actress accused him of “putting his fingers in her pants” during tests for a film released in 1989. She was 15 at the time and was with Benoît Jacquot.
