Luc Besson Rape Accusations “Definitively Dismissed” By Paris Court – Media Reports

France’s highest appeals court dismissed accusations of rape by Belgian-Dutch actress Sand Van Roy against French director and producer Luc Besson on Wednesday.

According to local media reports, the Court of Cassation in Paris rejected an appeal lodged by the actress in relation to the 2021 dismissal of her 2018 complaint for rape against Besson.

More from Deadline

• 'Power Of The Dog' Producer Tanya Seghatchian To Lead London Film Festival Jury; Luc Besson & James Gray Booked For Rome's Talks Program; Banijay Completes Sony Germany Deal; Bert Habets Named ProSiebenSat.1 Media Group CEO; Neom To Host Asian Winter Games In 2029 - Global Briefs

• EuropaCorp Sells Studios De Paris To Producer Tarak Ben Ammar In $37M Deal

• Rape Case Against Luc Besson Dismissed By Paris Judge; Accuser Plans To Appeal Ruling

Van Roy first filed a rape complaint against Besson on May 18, 2018, a few hours after a meeting with him in a luxury Paris hotel.

She filed a second complaint against the director two months later, accusing him of sexual assault over a period running from 2016 to 2018.

A Paris judge dismissed the case in 2021 after a lengthy investigation which was confirmed by the Paris appeals court in May 2022.

Van Roy’s lawyer Antoine Gitton immediately filed an appeal at France’s Court of Cassation, to which it was responding on Wednesday.

Van Roy’s 2018 accusations were followed by reports on French news website Mediapart in July and November of 2018, in which nine other women alleged inappropriate behavior by the director.

In an interview with French news channel BFMTV in October 2019, Besson broke his silence to firmly deny the allegations against him.

“This case is a lie from A to Z,” he said. “I did not rape that woman. I have never raped a woman in my life. I have never raised my hand on a woman. I have never threatened a woman”.

The allegations came amid an already rocky period for Besson and his once mighty Paris-based studio EuropaCorp, which found itself in financial difficulty when his big-budget passion project Valerian failed to perform at the local and international box office.

The director, who has been keeping a low public profile over the last five years, is currently gearing up for the release later this year of his relatively low-budget drama DogMan, his first directorial credit since Anna in 2019.

Best of Deadline

• 2023 Premiere Dates For New & Returning Series On Broadcast, Cable & Streaming

• 2023-24 Awards Season Calendar - Dates For Oscars, Emmys, Major Film Festivals, Guilds & More

• TV Shows Affected By WGA Strike: 1923', 'Metropolis', 'Little Sky', 'The Penguin', 'Daredevil: Born Again' & More - Updated List

Sign up for Deadline's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Click here to read the full article.