The investigation opened in September 2020 for rape and sexual assault targeting Gérald Marie, former European director of the Elite modeling agency, was dismissed on Monday February 13 for "prescription", AFP learned on Tuesday from a close
source
. of the file confirmed by the Paris prosecutor's office.
"
The procedure was dismissed on February 13 due to the acquisition of the prescription of the public action
", confirmed the public prosecutor.
Former BBC journalist Lisa Brinkworth had filed a complaint against Gérald Marie, denouncing a sexual assault in October 1998 in a Milanese club, during the filming of a documentary.
Reports of three models
Three former models had made reports to denounce facts of rape or sexual assault, one being a minor at the time of the facts, of which they accused Gérald Marie and which would have occurred between 1980 and 1998. The Paris prosecutor's office had opened in September 2020 an investigation for "
rape and sexual assault
" on adults and minors, entrusted to the Brigade for the Protection of Minors (BPM).
Since then, no non-prescribed victim had been identified by investigators, a source familiar with the matter told AFP in January.
“
We welcome the dismissal of this case.
Justice has finally triumphed despite the infamous media campaign that Gérald Marie has been undergoing for two years
, ”said his lawyer, Me Céline Bekerman.
“
By this decision, it is now certain that Gérald Marie is and will remain innocent.
The time is now for appeasement, although we do not rule out prosecution for slanderous denunciation
,” the advice added.
“The victim is prevented from acting”
In a circular of February 2021, the Keeper of the Seals Éric Dupond-Moretti had requested that, at the end of the preliminary investigations, the classification due to "prescription"
intervene
"
only (...) when the facts revealed or denounced in the procedure do constitute an offense but that the time limit set by law for being able to try them has passed
".
On January 5, even before this classification decision, Céline Brinkworth's lawyers had filed a complaint with civil action, asking that an investigating judge be seized of the facts in order to allow a "debate" on this
prescription
"
when the victim is prevented from acting by a climate of threats and pressure
”.
Read alsoSexual and gender-based violence: political parties lagging behind
My William Bourdon and Amélie Lefebvre, lawyers for Céline Brinkworth with Anne-Claire Le Jeune, questioned instructions attributed to the BBC and an agreement made at the time between British television and Elite after a defamation complaint from the agency .
Following these instructions, Céline Brinkworth would have prohibited herself from filing a complaint, in particular for lack of having been able to have the images which would prove her aggression.
"
We are doing everything we can to help him in his efforts in France
," a spokesman for British television told AFP.
