According to legal documents cited by Rolling Stone, French film director Luc Besson has been acquitted of all charges related to the alleged rape reported by Belgian-Dutch actress and model Sand Van Roy in 2018. The Court of Cassation, France’s highest court, ruled that no means existed to allow the appeal to be admitted, so Besson was found not guilty. However, Van Roy will have to pay €2,500 ($2,700) to the filmmaker.
Van Roy’s complaint was based on an abusive love affair with Besson, which allegedly culminated in a rape in a hotel in May 2018. Although the actress went to the police, the case was dismissed in 2019 for lack of evidence. She subsequently filed a civil suit, which was also dismissed. Following the latest ruling, Van Roy will no longer be able to bring similar charges against Besson in any other European country.
Besson’s lawyer, Thierry Marembert, welcomed the decision and said it confirmed the filmmaker’s innocence, putting a definitive end to a trial that had dragged on for five years and in which Besson had been systematically acquitted by the magistrates. For his part, Van Roy announced on Twitter his intention to appeal to the European Court of Human Rights, claiming that the French justice system refused to examine the evidence in the case.
The Court of Cassation’s verdict closes this legal chapter, but the controversy and implications will continue as the situation highlights the challenges and difficulties in cases of sexual violence and abuse in the entertainment industry. In addition, Van Roy’s announcement of his intention to appeal to the European Court of Human Rights suggests that the case is not yet at an end and is likely to drag on for months to come.