Nicolas Bedos, French Actor and Director, Sentenced to One Year in Prison With Six Months Suspended for Sexual Assault
French actor-director Nicolas Bedos has received a one-year prison sentence, with six months suspended and compulsory treatment, for the sexual assaults of two women last year, according to Le Parisien.
However, Bedos — who was not present at the sentencing in Paris on Tuesday — was acquitted on a count of sexual harassment in 2018. His attorney, Julia Monkowski, said that she would appeal the sentence, Le Parisien reported.
Bedos is best known for directing “La Belle Epoque,” which played at the Cannes Film Festival and won three Cesar Awards in 2020. Bedos’ latest film, “Mascarade,” a heist romance starring Pierre Niney, Marine Vacth, Isabelle Adjani and Francois Cluzet, played out-of-competition at Cannes in 2022.
The charges against Bedos stemmed from a complaint filed by a woman for an alleged sexual assault on June 1 in a Parisian nightclub. Bedos allegedly put his hand on the crotch of the woman, who was wearing jeans. Two more women then came forward accusing Bedos of sexual misconduct, but neither filed a police complaint. One woman said Bedos grabbed her by the waist and kissed her on the neck on May 12, 2023, and a second one accused him of sexual harassment in 2018, alleging that he touched her belly and asked her to kiss him.
During a court hearing on Sept. 26, Bedos denied the accusations and said he didn’t “remember anything” about the June 2023 incident because he was too inebriated. He argued that he had a problem with alcohol, but said he “will never be a sexual aggressor,” adding: “I do not impose myself. We can talk about heaviness, we can talk about flirting … but there is no sexual intention.”
Monkowski echoed this sentiment at the end of the sentencing on Tuesday, calling it an “unprecedented lynching.”
“He has been treating this alcohol problem for almost two years,” she said, according to Le Parisien. “His family and professional life has been deeply disrupted by this procedure.”
