French singer and actor Patrick Bruel has been charged with rape, attempted rape, sexual assault and sexual harassment, prosecutors said on Wednesday, in a case that now involves accusations by more than 20 women.
Bruel, 67, was released under judicial supervision after almost 48 hours in police custody. Prosecutors had requested that he be held in pre-trial detention, but investigating judges instead ordered his release on bail of €500,000.
The artist, who denies all the allegations against him, has been barred from leaving France and must undergo psychological treatment, among other conditions.
The charges relate to four alleged incidents spanning a decade and two countries: rape in the Neuilly-sur-Seine suburb of Paris in 2008; attempted rape in Brussels in 2010; sexual assault and sexual harassment in Perpignan in 2019, and sexual harassment in the Corsican capital Ajaccio the same year.
Multiple complaints
According to a complaint in the Perpignan case, a massage therapist alleged that Bruel made several sexual advances during a massage before touching her buttocks and asking her to move her hands towards his private parts.
In the Brussels case, the alleged victim was a Belgian press officer at the offices of the public broadcaster RTBF.
In four other cases, judges also designated Bruel an assisted witness, a less serious legal status assigned to someone suspected of a crime but who has not yet been formally charged. These concern alleged incidents including rape in Dinard in 2012, rape in L’Isle-sur-la-Sorgue in 2015, sexual harassment in Nyon, Switzerland, in 2019, and attempted rape in Neuilly-sur-Seine in 2010 and 2011.
In one case, a woman who had gone to Bruel’s home to present music demos alleged that he tried to force her to perform oral sex, kissed her by force and attempted to physically coerce her, according to a complaint reviewed by French news agency AFP.
A ninth case, relating to an alleged rape in Grenoble in 2000, was deemed to be beyond the statute of limitations.
More allegations under review
The judicial investigation requested by prosecutors also covered proceedings involving 13 other women who alleged rape, attempted rape, sexual assault or sexual harassment between 1992 and 2008.
The Nanterre prosecutor's office said the alleged acts may fall outside the legal time limit for prosecution.
Other women have accused Bruel of offences not included in the investigation. Among them is television presenter Flavie Flament, who filed a civil-party complaint in Paris last month accusing Bruel of raping her in 1991, when she was 16.
"What is truly outrageous is that before me, there were women who for months – for years – tried to make themselves heard, and it took the media coverage of my complaint for things to move forward," Flament told AFP earlier this week.
Daniela Elstner, the chief executive of Unifrance – the association that promotes French cinema abroad – has also filed a complaint with the Paris prosecutor’s office for sexual assault and attempted rape, alleging incidents in Acapulco, Mexico, in 1997 on the sidelines of a festival.
Additionally, a former beauty queen and a physiotherapist have filed complaints of rape in 2008 and 2000 respectively, according to investigative news site Mediapart.
Bruel, who has sold millions of albums and appeared in more than 40 films, has cancelled all his concerts until September.
His lawyers said in a statement on Monday he would answer all questions and "provide all the elements necessary to demonstrate his innocence".
(with newswires)
