A French judge has ordered that French actor Gérard Depardieu stand trial in a criminal court on charges of rape related to accusations by actress Charlotte Arnould, French media reported on Tuesday.

The decision comes some seven years after Arnould officially brought rape charges against the actor in 2018.

The actress, whose father was an old friend of the actor, accuses Depardieu of raping and sexually assaulting her twice in his Paris mansion in the summer of 2018 after she went to him for acting advice.

The criminal court is France’s highest level of court reserved for crimes carrying sentences of more than five years, if the accused is found guilty.

News of the trial comes four months after a Paris court found the actor guilty of sexual assault and gave him a 18-month suspended se

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