“I saw in his eyes a pleasure in frightening me, that’s what I felt, it’s savagery,” she said, according to the AP. “He terrified me, and that amused him.”
Depardieu claimed he grabbed the woman’s hips in an effort not to fall down, according to The New York Times. The outlet reported that the woman testified that Depardieu did not let go until another staffer on set stepped in to pull him off of her.
“I tried to free myself, I tried to take his hands away, I couldn’t do it,” the woman testified, according to the Times. “He terrified me, he laughed, he looked like a madman.”
PEOPLE has reached out to the Paris prosecutor’s office for more details about its sentencing request.
The legendary French actor is accused of groping a 54-year-old set dresser and a 34-year-old assistant director while he was filming the 2021 movie, Les Volets Verts (The Green Shutters), the Associated Press reports.
Over the years, the 76-year-old actor has faced other allegations of sexual assault but has steadfastly maintained his innocence. These are the first allegations for which he has faced trial, Reuters and NBC News report.
The women who are accusing him of sexually assaulting them in 2021 have not been publicly identified.
The actor’s lawyer said his client continues to deny any wrongdoing.
“We will be able to show in an impartial, objective and incontestable manner that all of the accusations are lies,” his attorney, Jérémie Assous, told journalists outside the courtroom, the AP reports.
“The truth will be obvious and the truth is on our side,” he said.
According to prosecutors, Depardieu allegedly held the 54-year-old woman with his legs, groping her waist and breasts as witnesses looked on, the AP reports.
Depardieu allegedly used obscene language with her and was pulled away from her by bodyguards, according to the AP. The other woman said the actor allegedly groped her on the set and in the street.
Over the years, more than 20 women have accused Depardieu of sexual assault or sexual misconduct.
He was being investigated for rape when these alleged assaults took place, according to the AP.
Discussion about this post