Filmmaker Benoît Jacquot has been charged with “rape, sexual assault and violence” against actress Julia Roy, and “rape of a minor by a person in authority” against Isild Le Besco. Presented to an examining magistrate on Wednesday 3 July, he is accused of “rape”, “rape of minors”, “sexual assault” and “violence” against the two actresses, according to the Paris public prosecutor’s office

Specifically, Benoît Jacquot is charged with “rape by spouse or cohabitee”, “intentional violence without TIW by spouse or cohabitee” and “sexual assault by spouse” of Julia Roy, as well as “rape of a minor by a person in authority” of Isild Le Besco.

He has been placed under assisted witness status for other acts denounced by the same actresses. As a result of his judicial supervision, he is now banned from working as a film director and from any activity involving minors.

Julia Minkowski, the director’s lawyer, said: “The investigation is at an embryonic stage and it was particularly premature to bring him before an examining magistrate. What’s more, the judge did not take into account all the facts for which the public prosecutor’s office had recommended, by placing him partially under assisted witness status.

She also expressed her regret at the prolonged detention of 77-year-old Benoît Jacquot: “It is regrettable that Benoît Jacquot was held for three days by the courts and heard without having had access to his case file, which is however provided for by the code of criminal procedure in flagrant cases of violation of the presumption of innocence”.

Three new complaints against Jacques Doillon

The 80-year-old filmmaker Jacques Doillon was taken into police custody on Monday as part of the investigation opened in February by the Paris public prosecutor’s office, in particular for “rape of a minor under the age of 15 by a person in authority”. The investigation was triggered after Judith Godrèche, 52, lodged a complaint accusing directors Benoît Jacquot and Jacques Doillon. Doillon’s police custody was lifted on Tuesday evening “for medical reasons”, the public prosecutor’s office said, adding that it had “forwarded the procedure to assess what action should be taken”. The complainants whose acts do not correspond to the period of prevention retained (2013-2018 for Julia Roy and 1998-2000 and 2007 for Isild Le Besco) “will be contacted personally”, according to the same source.

Confrontation and new accusations

In front of the police, Jacques Doillon was confronted by Joe Rohanne, a non-binary trans person, who filed a complaint for three rapes, assault and battery, and psychological violence. “I’d been thinking about it for a long time. I just couldn’t get past it. Our daughter is 13. It’s a tricky thing to lodge a complaint against the father of your child. I was afraid for a long time that it would be too difficult for her,” Joe told Libération.

Le Monde revealed Joe Rohanne’s complaint on Wednesday evening, along with those of two other women, one accusing Doillon of rape and the other of attempted rape. Marie Dosé, Doillon’s lawyer, declined to comment.

Reactions to the complaints

Judith Godrèche, who claims to have been subjected to a relationship of “control” and “perversion” with Benoît Jacquot between 1986 and 1992, has had her accusations excluded from the judicial investigation due to the statute of limitations. However, an investigation has been opened to identify other potential victims. Julia Roy and Isild Le Besco described Jacquot’s abusive behaviour in the press and in a book. They filed a complaint after Judith Godrèche.

“We note that Benoît Jacquot has been referred to an examining magistrate for acts similar to those committed against Judith Godrèche, even though the statute of limitations has expired”, Godrèche’s lawyer, Laure Heinich, told AFP. She added that her client “can nevertheless feel heard through the decision of the public prosecutor”. Judith Godrèche confirmed these comments on her Instagram account.

Contestation of the facts

Benoît Jacquot and Jacques Doillon strongly contest the accusations made against them. Julia Minkowski, Jacquot’s lawyer, said that the filmmaker would “finally be able to express himself before the courts”, denouncing “excessive media coverage” and “dysfunctions in the justice system”.

Jacques Doillon, for his part, has lodged a complaint against Judith Godrèche for defamation. Godrèche accuses Doillon of having “abused” her at the age of 15, in his office and on the set of the film La Fille de quinze ans. Doillon’s lawyer, Marie Dosé, commented that her client “should have been heard in a free hearing, given the age of the facts, the fact that they have been time-barred for more than two decades, and the inevitable closure of the case”.