French director Nicolas Bedos sentenced to a one-year suspended prison sentence

French actor and director Nicolas Bedos was on Thursday sentenced by a Paris criminal court to a one-year suspended prison sentence on charges of sexual assault and sexual harassment under the influence of alcohol.

Cannes regular Bedos – whose recent films include: La Belle Epoque, OSS 177: From Africa with love AND Masquerade – was tried on three charges.

The first complaint was filed 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.

According to her account, he insulted her when she rejected his advances, and his behavior resulted in him being escorted from the club by a security guard.

The 45-year-old actor reportedly told investigators at the time that if the gesture occurred, it was “accidental.”

After a court hearing was scheduled for September 2024, two more accusations came to light, one of sexual assault, made by a waitress at the same club who accused Bedos of kissing her on the neck while drunk in May 2023.

The third, alleged to be sexual harassment, stems from a 2018 evening at a friend’s house, during which he allegedly followed one of the guests into the bathroom, tried to embrace her, and then spat in her face when she resisted his advances. .

In the background, these accusations encouraged other women to come forward with allegations against Bedos, dating back to the 1990s.

According to reports, the Paris prosecutor’s office initiated a preliminary investigation into the charges, which were then discontinued due to the statute of limitations.

The director has just finished the Prime Video Show Alfons with Oscar winner Jean Dujardin when the first accusations surfaced. The platform released the series without fanfare, and Bedos disappeared from the public eye.

His former partner, actress Elsa Zylberstein, told the Sunday newspaper La Tribune Dimanche before the trial that the actor stopped dating, moved out of Paris and never touched a drop of alcohol again.

“He has examined his conscience and is calmly waiting for the trial,” she added.

During Thursday’s trial, Bedos denied the accusations and said he was not a sexual predator, suggesting his behavior was fueled by excessive alcohol consumption.

“I had long realized that alcohol was an aggravating factor, which is why I sought treatment. I realized that I could be nasty, pathetic and aggressive towards men and women, towards everyone.

“I lost almost everything because of this story. “If I’m here, I want to say that I am not and will never be a sexual predator,” he said.

“There was no sexual intent, there was no desire to impose something sexual on someone… I include everyone, waiters, men… It has nothing to do with the genre, so to speak.”

The sentence also includes a two-year probation period and mandatory treatment. When passing sentence, the prosector said: “Can we be wrong? No, there is no ambiguity.”