Gérard Depardieu Found Guilty of Sexual Assault, 18-Month Sentence Suspended

French actor Gérard Depardieu has been found guilty of sexually assaulting two women on the set of his 2021 film, “Les Volets Verts.”

A Paris court judge gave him an 18-month suspended prison sentence on Tuesday after he sexually assaulted a set decorator and an assistant director. Additionally, his name will be added to France’s sex offender registry and he must pay a fine of roughly $32,350, including one victim’s medical fees.

Depardieu has long denied any criminal wrongdoing and his lawyer has already announced plans to appeal the decision. The actor was not present in court on Tuesday and initially faced up to five years in prison.

The set dresser’s lawyer responded to the conviction, saying, “It is the victory of two women, but it is the victory of all the women beyond this trial … Today, we hope to see the end of impunity for an artist in the world of cinema. I think that with this decision we can no longer say that he is not a sexual abuser. And today, as the Cannes Film Festival opens, I’d like the film world to spare a thought for Gérard Depardieu’s victims.”

“For me, it’s a victory, truly,” one of the victims added. “We are moving forward.”

The update came weeks after the actor admitted to grabbing the set decorator’s hips. “I understand perfectly if she’s a bit upset,” Depardieu said on the stand in March. “She didn’t answer as if I was assaulting her.”

“I’ve always been told I have a Russian nature, I don’t know if it’s because of the drinking or the vulgarity … I’m not touching the butts of women,” he continued. “I am capable of trash talk. I don’t have to talk like that, get angry like that, voilà.”

Depardieu previously denied being a rapist or a predator in response to actress Charlotte Arnould’s 2018 lawsuit against him. While fellow actress Hélène Darras’ similar allegations were dropped by French prosecutors in 2024 due to the statute of limitations, at least 13 other women have also accused the Oscar-nominated actor of misconduct.

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