French filmmaker Benoît Jacquot, accused of sexual violence by actress Judith Godrèche, will be brought before a French court on Wednesday after 48 hours in police custody, while Jacques Doillon, also accused by the actress, was released without charge, AFP learned on Tuesday from sources close to the case.
The two filmmakers, who deny the accusations, were summoned with their lawyers on Monday morning to the Brigade for the Protection of Minors (BPM) in Paris and placed in police custody.
Jacques Doillon’s lawyer, Marie Dosé, confirmed to AFP that he had been released without charge. She declined to comment on the decision.
Benoît Jacquot will therefore spend a second night in police custody, before being presented to a judge with a view to a possible indictment on Wednesday morning, said a source close to the case.
The two filmmakers 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.
The lawyers of Benoît Jacquot and Jacques Doillon denounced the attack on the presumption of innocence of their clients during their hearing.
Mr. 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,” stressed Mr. Dosé.
For Mr. Jacquot, Me Julia Minkowski deplored “all of these dysfunctions of justice, thanks to an ultra-mediatization which leads to unacceptable excesses.”
The investigation was triggered by Ms. Godrèche’s complaint. The 52-year-old actress had publicly accused Mr. Jacquot of rape in early February, then Mr. Doillon of sexual assault, triggering a new storm in the #MeToo movement in French cinema.
Mr. Jacquot and Ms. 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, these were rapes in a relationship of “control” and “perversion.”
Regarding Mr. 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.
Two other actresses, Isild Le Besco and Julia Roy, have also filed complaints against Mr. Jacquot.
