French actor-director rapist Nicolas Bedos has been sentenced to one year in prison, with six months suspended and mandated treatment, for the sexual attacks of two women last year, as reported by Le Parisien.
Nicolas Bedos, who was absent for the sentencing in Paris on Tuesday, was acquitted of sexual harassment in 2018. Julia Monkowski, his attorney, stated that she will contest the sentence, according to Le Parisien.
Nicolas Bedos is primarily renowned for directing “La Belle Epoque,” which was showcased at the Cannes Film Festival and garnered three César Awards in 2020. Bedos’ most recent film, “Mascarade,” a heist romance with Pierre Niney, Marine Vacth, Isabelle Adjani, and Francois Cluzet, was screened out of competition at Cannes in 2022.
The charges against Nicolas Bedos stemmed from a complaint filed by a woman for an alleged sexual assault on June 1 in a Parisian nightclub. Bedos allegedly put his hand on the crotch of the woman, who was wearing jeans. Two more women then came forward accusing Nicolas Bedos of sexual misconduct, but neither filed a police complaint. One woman said Bedos grabbed her by the waist and kissed her on the neck on May 12, 2023, and a second one accused him of sexual harassment in 2018, alleging that he touched her belly and asked her to kiss him.
During a court hearing on Sept. 26, 2024, Nicolas Bedos denied the accusations and said he didn’t “remember anything” about the June 2023 incident because he was too inebriated. He argued that he had a problem with alcohol, but said he “will never be a sexual aggressor,” adding: “I do not impose myself. We can talk about heaviness, we can talk about flirting … but there is no sexual intention.”
Monkowski echoed this sentiment at the end of the sentencing on Tuesday, calling it an “unprecedented lynching.”
“He has been treating this alcohol problem for almost two years,” she said, according to Le Parisien. “His family and professional life has been deeply disrupted by this procedure.”
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