[Source: AP]

A prominent French film director has been handed preliminary charges of rape, sexual assault and violence by a French judge investigating a case involving female actors, the Paris prosecutor’s office said Thursday.

Benoît Jacquot, who has more than 50 director credits in film and television stretching back to the 1970s, has become one of the most prominent figures in a belated reckoning within the French movie industry and beyond over sexual violence and physical abuse.

French actor Judith Godrèche, who alleges that Jacquot raped and physical abused her in a six-year relationship that began when she was 14 years old, has taken a lead role in kickstarting the #MeToo wave. The movement struggled for traction before she spoke out publicly earlier this year and emboldened other actors to do so.

The Paris prosecutor’s office said the judge investigating allegations against Jacquot made by actor Isild Le Besco and another actor The Associated Press is not naming handed him an array of preliminary charges on Wednesday after he was detained earlier this week for police questioning. In France, such charges are filed when a magistrate has determined there is serious and accumulated evidence to indicate that crimes may have been committed, allowing for more investigation before a decision on whether to prosecute.

The AP does not normally identify sexual assault victims. Le Besco, 41, has previously spoken publicly on French television and in other media and in a book about her relationship with the director that started when she was a teenager and who is 35 years older than her.