The French prosecutor’s office has called for the reopening of the investigation against Luc Besson: the director is accused of raping actress Sand Van Roy, whom he met at the Bristol Hotel in Paris eight years ago. This was reported by the newspaper Libération.
The reason for reopening the case was the results of DNA analysis obtained during an examination of the actress’s underwear at a Dutch laboratory. According to Van Roy’s representatives, this item of her clothing had not previously undergone a full forensic examination.
Sand Van Roy first filed a rape complaint against Luc Besson in May 2018. At the time, the actress described a violent sexual assault that left her unconscious.
Later, Sand reported new incidents of sexual harassment that occurred while she was working with Besson on the film “Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets.” Subsequently, she was removed from the cast of the film “Anna,” starring Russian supermodel Sasha Luss.
Back in 2023, the Paris prosecutor’s office dismissed Sand Van Roy’s allegations, as the investigation was unable to substantiate the charges brought against the director.
It is known that Besson’s lawyer, Thierry Marember, stated that he and his client are awaiting the investigative chamber’s decision on whether to reopen the case.
He also noted that “Luc Besson and Sand Van Roy were in a relationship for several years” and that courts had previously “always concluded that Luc Besson was innocent.”
The 67-year-old director himself has already denied the rape allegations and stated that the relationship was consensual.
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As a reminder, Luc Besson is an iconic French director and one of the most influential figures in European cinema. His legendary films include “Léon” and “The Fifth Element”. He is also the director of landmark films such as “Joan of Arc” and “Lucy”.
Luc Besson has been married four times and has five children from various marriages. In 2004, he married producer Virginie Silla, with whom he is still married.
Before that, he was married for about five years to actress Anne Parillaud, who starred in his film “Nikita” and gave birth to their daughter Juliette.
The director then married actress Maïwenn Le Besco, who was 16 when their relationship began—while Besson was in his early 30s—and who gave birth to their daughter, Shanna.
Among his wives was also “The Fifth Element” star Milla Jovovich, to whom he was married for about two years.
Sand Van Roy is a 38-year-old actress known for her roles in the films “Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets” and “Taxi 5”, as well as for her active involvement in the #MeToo movement.
