A list that continues to grow. This Wednesday, Me Myriam Guedj-Benayoun, who represents several complainants, announced on France Inter the filing of a new complaint for attempted rape against Patrick Bruel. According to the lawyer, “we find the same operating mode,” she notes.
Guest of the morning show today, the Toulouse lawyer announced that she had filed a complaint “this summer” with the Nanterre public prosecutor for “attempted rape”. At the time of the events, his client was “extremely young, barely an adult”. As with many other complainants, “we are in the world of entertainment, she is approached, invited to a party and finally at this party she will be alone with Patrick Bruel and that is where she says she is the victim of an attempted rape,” she continues.
New testimonies expected in September
For the moment the facts “are concerned by the limitation period”, adds Me Guedj-Benayoun. But, “it is permitted to work on seriality and connectivity between facts”. Work is underway with “the investigating judges to see if the operating methods in this case represent a series of crimes or misdemeanor acts and if there is a connection.” Indeed, the law now allows certain exemptions when there is a repeated modus operandi, the same perpetrator, a similar victim profile.
In total, the singer is the target of “31 complaints to the Nanterre prosecutor”, underlines the lawyer and other women still intend to make themselves known to the justice system: “in September I will file several testimonies who do not wish to file a complaint but wish to provide their testimony on the facts they say they have suffered, mainly attempted rape.”
This announcement comes as the justice system is strongly criticized by the plaintiffs for having authorized a reduction in the singer's judicial control. Since July 21, the investigating judge, contacted by the artist's lawyers with a request for “partial release of the judicial control relating to the ban on leaving the national territory, granted it,” said Nanterre deputy prosecutor Virginie Deneux.
“There is no privilege of any kind”
“We are surprised because this relief was obtained quite quickly after the indictment for criminal acts,” notes Me Guedj-Benayoun. This is not a temporary relief as can be seen in certain cases, but a pure and simple cessation of its judicial control. It’s extremely rare to get it, when you have a lot of complaints to your credit.” However, the prosecution appealed and a hearing took place last Friday before the investigating chamber of the Versailles Court of Appeal. The decision was deliberated on September 16.
Tuesday evening, Patrick Bruel's lawyers, Mes Céline Lasek, Fanny Colin and Christophe Ingrain, published a press release to denounce "untruths". The lifting of the ban on leaving French territory is a “procedure open to all litigants and has no exceptional or derogatory character”, insists the singer's defense.
“Judicial review never constitutes a sanction. Once it has been established that Patrick Bruel does not pose a risk of flight - in fact, he is back in France after a brief stay abroad -, that he has responded to all summons, that he calls for the investigations to continue and that he is at the entire disposal of the justice system to do so, his ban on leaving the national territory has been lifted. There is no privilege of any kind here. It is appropriate that justice can function calmly in this case as in any other procedure.”
