Luc Besson Rape Accusation Dismissed by French Court for Lack of Evidence

The director was also accused of sexual assault July by a casting director

Luc Besson
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A French prosecutor on Monday dismissed a rape accusation lodged against director Luc Besson due to a lack of evidence.

Besson was accused in May of last year of drugging and raping a young actress in a Paris hotel. The actress, later identified as Sand Van Roy, had worked on two projects with Besson, including 2017’s “Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets.”

Van Roy accused him of drugging her tea and then sexually abusing her while she was unconscious. According to French broadcast station Europe 1 at the time, Van Roy said she awoke with memories of touching and penetration, adding that Besson left the hotel room before she did, and he left behind a wad of cash.

Besson denied the accusation.

In a statement sent to TheWrap and translated to English from French, Besson’s lawyers said the decision to dismiss the accusation came after a nine-month investigation in which he fully cooperated.

“Luc Besson is satisfied to learn of the decision by the State Prosecutor to dismiss the accusation brought by Mlle Sand Van Roy which he always formally denied,” the statement read. “The decision comes after a complete investigation by the first (prosecutor) with which he fully cooperated. He regrets that some, happily in the minority, hastily condemned him, and thanks those who offered their support during these difficult months.”

After the initial May 2018 accusation, Besson was accused in July of sexual assault by a second woman, as well as harassment by two other women.

Those accusations were the result of an investigative report by French outlet Mediapart, which was later picked up by AFP, in which a casting director who worked with the “Fifth Element” filmmaker said she was assaulted by Besson “every time I took the lift with him,” and that he also demanded sexual favors from her on set.

At the time, the director’s lawyer Thierry Marembert denounced the accusations against Besson, telling AFP news agency in Paris, “Luc Besson categorically denies these fantasist accusations.”

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