French actor and director Nicolas Bedos has been sentenced to one-year in prison with six months suspended, with an obligation to undergo treatment, for sexually assaulting two women in separate incidents in 2023.
The popular actor, director and writer – whose directorial credits include La Belle Epoque, OSS 177: From Africa With Love and Mr & Mme Adelman – was being tried in Paris in relation to three separate incidents that took place between 2018 and 2023.
The actor, who did not attend the hearing, was cleared of a third accusation of sexual harassment dating back to 2018.
At a first hearing at the end of September, the prosecuting judge demanded a suspended one-year sentence for the actor and an obligation that he undergo treatment for this behavior.
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It remains to be seen whether Bedos will do jail time. For sentences under two years in France, another judge often decides how much of the custodial sentence must be spent in jail, or whether other measures like house arrest can be applied.
The first complaint was lodged in June 2023, by a 25-year-old woman, who accused Bedos of approaching her in a club and putting his hand on her crotch. In a second complaint, a waitress at the same venue accused Bedos of kissing her on the neck while drunk in May 2023.
In a third complaint, classed as sexual harassment, a woman accused Bedos of following her to the bathroom during a party at a mutual friend’s house in 2018, and then spitting on her after she refused his advances.
Bedos told the hearing in September that he had no recollection of the June 2023 incident. Vehemently denying that he was a sexual predator, the actor and director said his behavior had been down to excessive alcohol and that he was undergoing treatment to deal with the issue on a voluntary basis.
News of the three accusations being brought to court, encouraged other women to come forward in 2023 with allegations against Bedos, dating back to the 1990s.
The Paris Prosecutor’s Office opened a preliminary investigation into the fresh accusations. It was later shelved due to France’s statute of limitations conventions, which gives adult victims between six to 20 years to report sexual violence, depending on the severity of the crime.
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