French filmmakers Benoît Jacquot and Jacques Doillon, accused by actresses including Judith Godrèche of sexual violence, were taken into custody on Monday July 1st at the juvenile protection unit, AFP learned from sources close to the case.
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The two filmmakers who contest these accusations arrived at around 9:30 a.m. at the regional headquarters of the judicial police in Paris accompanied by their lawyers, an AFP journalist noted.
Benoît Jacquot “ will finally be able to speak in court “, reacted his counsel Me Julia Minkowski, who denounced a “ criticizable ” jail. “ A free hearing should have been decided “, she added.
For Me Marie Dosé, lawyer for Jacques Doillon, “ None of the legal criteria could justify this measure “in police custody” 36 years ” after the facts denounced by Judith Godrèche. His client ” should have been heard in the context of a free hearing in view of the age of the facts, their statute of limitations acquired for more than two decades, and the inevitable filing without further action which will close this investigation ” she added in a statement.
The two lawyers denounced the “ violations of the presumption of innocence » of their customers and the media coverage of these measures.
Allow confrontations with some of their accusers
According to sources close to the case, these police custody could allow confrontations between the directors and some of their accusers, including Judith Godrèche.
In early February, the 52-year-old actress sparked a new storm in the #MeToo French by successively accusing Benoît Jacquot of rape, then Jacques Doillon of sexual assault, and by filing a complaint. The investigation by the Paris prosecutor’s office concerns the offences of 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.
Benoît Jacquot and Judith Godrèche, born in March 1972, began their relationship in the spring of 1986. They lived openly together, even buying an apartment in Paris, until their separation in 1992. Judith Godrèche spoke of a relationship of ” grip ” and of ” perversion “.
Two other actresses have filed complaints against Benoît Jacquot: Julia Roy for sexual assault; Isild le Besco, at the end of May, for rape of a minor over 15 years old and rape, allegedly committed between 1998 and 2007.
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