Luc Besson: “Justice has declared me innocent four times” … he speaks for the first time after the accusation of rape

As his new film DogMan enters competition at the 80th Venice Film Festival, French director Luc Besson speaks for the first time about the rape allegations in an exclusive interview. Paris match.

For information, in May 2018, actor Sand Van Rooy filed a complaint against Luc Besson, accusing the director of rape and sexual assault. After a confrontation between the two parties, the Paris prosecutor’s office closed the case without further action. The court found that “the crime complained of cannot be characterized.” The actor then filed a fresh plea seeking removal of the investigating magistrate to reopen the investigation. Two years later, in December 2021, the dismissal was announced in favor of Luc Besson, on the grounds of “the absence of any material element to support the claims of the complainant”.

On May 24, 2022, the Paris Court of Appeal upheld the dismissal order. I Antoine Guyton, Sand Van Rooy’s lawyer (with me Francis Spinner), then launched a cassation appeal. A year later, the Court of Cassation finally rejected the accusations of the Belgian-Dutch actor Sand van Rooy about the rape of Luc Besson. AFP said the court “actually considered that there was no way” to allow the complaint “and therefore declared it inadmissible.”

Luc Besson has never spoken before. during his new movie DogMan It will be released in cinemas on September 27 and that it was selected in competition at the 80th Venice Film Festival and will be presented at the Deauville American Film Festival, where the filmmaker will also hold a master class with the director and the French producer. speaks in the columns of Paris Match.

Regarding these allegations, Luc Besson said:At first the stunner won because I did not commit the crime I was accused of. We are very helpless, we are in this situation because sometimes it is difficult to prove our innocence. The investigation lasted for five years, hearing of 31 witnesses, toxicological, psychiatric, psychological examination and about two thousand pages of files were conducted. Nothing is left to chance. And believe me, given the current period, if there was even the slightest doubt about my guilt, it would have been charged long ago.“

“Justice did its job and declared me innocent four times”

The journalist again broadcasts the director and claims that the latter was never charged. Then Luc Besson continues: “Based on the collected information, the judge decided not to press charges against me in 2019. Another judge ordered the release in 2021. A third judge upheld the decision on appeal in 2022, and eventually the French Supreme Court rejected the final appeal. June, we can talk about ruthlessness, but justice has done its job and declared me innocent four times, so the case is closed.”

He adds: “Even then, to some, the mere fact of the accused imposes guilt. It is as if a man with a little power makes me a murderer. I have heard some say, ‘There was not enough evidence!’ But, on the contrary, justice has collected dozens of proofs of my innocence, there is no need to cry conspiracy, such Borrowing relationships I don’t have is pure fantasy.”

After that, Paris Match returns to the court and media review of the case. The director explains that he relied entirely on justice: “It’s hard to defend yourself when you’re accused of a crime you didn’t commit. The only solution is to rely on justice. I’ve observed a very difficult and precise process for five years. I’ve seen people work diligently and relentlessly. Collect evidence and find the truth. Justice is not is perfect, but irreplaceable. (…)”

“The media fabric is a giant pool of gasoline where anyone can throw a match.”

Luc Besson is still more ferocious about the media machine. He states: “It’s an all-consuming ogre that needs to be fed constantly to burn and click and tweet. The cause doesn’t matter as long as it’s flammable. The media fabric is a giant pool of gasoline where anyone can throw a match. It is a spectacle and brings money but does not protect the victim. It is absolutely necessary to separate this system from justice.

I understand those who sometimes doubt and lose faith in it, but in the age of Twitter and ChatGPT it remains the best refuge. Otherwise, how are we supposed to find the truth among the billions of unverified information that are constantly being thrown at us? We will not win this battle without hindsight, insight, difference. Both victims and plaintiffs were burned out and forgotten in the media spotlight. The media machine is a volcano that has nothing to do with its ashes.“

Unveiled at the Venice Film Festival this Thursday, Caleb Landry Jones’ Dressed Up DogMan hits theaters on September 27. The feature film tells the story of a child, bruised by life, who finds salvation through the love that dogs have for him.