French actor Depardieu charged with rape in revived case

PARIS (AP) — The Paris prosecutor’s office says French actor Gerard Depardieu was charged in December with rape and sexual assault after authorities revived a 2018 investigation that had initially been dropped. The office told The Associated Press on Tuesday that Depardieu was not detained when he was handed the preliminary charges. The prosecutor’s office confirmed the charges after the case was leaked to French media. The charges relate to allegations made by an actress in her 20s that Depardieu sexually assaulted her at his Paris home on two occasions in August 2018. The initial inquiry against the “Green Card” star was dropped in 2019 because of a lack of evidence.