Head of France’s cinema agency sentenced to three years for sexual assault of 19 year old godson

Ooo la la

Ahem.

[quote] Dominique Boutonnat, the head of France’s powerful National Centre for Cinema and the Moving Image (CNC)

This makes me chuckle… I imagine the guy who produces the Oscars, or even Fran Drescher, as having their own nuclear footballs and the fate of the world’s culture in their hands.

The guy looks hot. He should have been grateful.

No pics of the godson. (Sigh)

Three years? They'll fly by!

I keep hearing Andy Williams crooning Speak Softly Love while reading this.

19 year old me would have killed for someone hot and French like him to sexually assault me. One man's trash is another man's treasure...

That’s pretty tame behavior for France.

Of course the creeper blames the kid for starting it. Scumbag.

Nineteen?

Fuckng Pseudo-Twinks.

Just one year at home with an ankle bracelet, Babs.

Godson at the trial.

Godson is not hot, he could have done so much better. Definitely not worth getting in trouble over.

The Godson looks older than him. Weird twink.

Would someone explain the assault aspect? The guy was 19. This was a sexual attack? Rape? A masturbation by force? Of a 19 yo?

Not his stepson. Not his son. A godson, a very tenuous relationship.

Handsome guy - Its a shame he is a creepy piece of garbage!

Love is Love!

^the other Mrs. Macron

R16, this probably happened years ago.

R20 Reading skills? "The young man accused Boutonnat of trying to masturbate him during a holiday in Greece in 2020 when he was 19."

OK, thanks, R21.

That settled, sexual assault is still sexual assault whether one is assaulted as a minor or as an adult.

yes I understand what assault is I'm curious about what actually went down.

I seem to remember reading about this in a French newspaper and it had to do with coercion based on financial support.

R13 from that angle he looks like a young Conan O’Brien

Or an ugly Eric Stoltz.

Perv

What a waste of an assault.

[quote] Or an ugly Eric Stoltz.

Or an uglier Eric Stoltz?

Thank you, R13.

Smells like a payday to me ....

Sort of looks like a French Hugh Grant. I won’t decide if he’s guilty or not until I see whether his body is fit or lumpy.

Poor ageing twink, he must be traumatized. I too was molested by a much older french person.

He's French. Of course he will be a sex criminal

This was not sexual assault.

What a bullshit sentence.

Our world is so PC now, it has become intolerable.

And he was 19, for fuck's sake. All he had to do was say no, or walk away. End of story.

To sentence someone to three years of jail time for this?

It's absolute bullshit.

R33, being against sexual assault makes you a normal human, not "pc"

Fuck you for defending this guy

19? Come on, that's basically a senior citizen! Nothing to see here.

NOT GUILTY

What a mess Don't do stupid shit! you know better.

The age of consent in France is 15, so 19 is not anywhere close to being a minor in that country as regards sexual behavior.

Rod Stewart - Some Guys Have All the Luck (Official Video)

[quote] The young man accused Boutonnat of trying to masturbate him during a holiday in Greece

That's not fucking sexual assault.

That's groping. And it's certainly not punishable with three years in prison.

What a ridiculous legal system there is in France.

What next? Will unwanted kissing be punishable with a death sentence?

Dumb assholes.

[quote] The young man accused Boutonnat of trying to masturbate him during a holiday in Greece That's not fucking sexual assault.

The ultimate objection is an orgasm by the victim. Yes that sounds like rape

Does coercion with money mean he tried to pay the godson for sex? Or cut him off from financial support? More details please. Also there was another incident where a stepson of a famous French intellectual made a similar accusation. Anyone remember that case?

Here is the french Vanity Fair article. Use google translate.

Autour de la piscine, la conversation s’éternise. Arthur se laisse aller à quelques confessions, l’alcool aidant. Selon le récit qu’il fera plus tard, son parrain l'encourage alors à s'enivrer. À une heure bien avancée de la nuit, Dominique Boutonnat aurait aussi proposé à son filleul un bain de minuit. Lorsqu’il sort de l’eau, Arthur se serait entouré d’une serviette qui aurait glissé au moment où il s'apprêtait à prendre une photo du lever du soleil, le laissant totalement nu. Le producteur l’aurait alors pris en photo, qualifiant la scène de « grandiose ».

Aux dires d’Arthur toujours, Dominique Boutonnat se serait alors approché, pour l’enlacer « assez fortement », tout en le complimentant sur son physique. Le jeune homme, fort gêné par ce rapprochement, se serait écarté, prétextant vouloir aller se coucher. Mais Dominique Boutonnat l’aurait suivi jusque dans sa chambre du rez-de-chaussée.

Dégoûté, apeuré

Là, « il s’allonge à côté de moi en me disant qu’il est très fatigué. […] Il commence à parler de notre relation, en insistant sur le fait qu’on a une relation incroyable, que c’est fou, que c’est dingue, que c’est quelque chose à protéger. En disant ça, il commence à se rapprocher de moi. […] Il pose sa bouche sur la mienne et a tenté d’y introduire sa langue. Moi, je ne fais rien pour le relancer, je reste stoïque. […] Je sens qu’il commence à s’exciter, sa respiration s’intensifie. Il est complètement en train de se frotter contre moi. Je me rends compte qu’il est nu. […] Tout se passe très vite et je n’arrive pas à me dégager. Il m’embrasse sur le cou, sur le torse.» Puis, le producteur l’aurait masturbé « violemment », Arthur se soumettant lui aussi à une masturbation forcée, « pensant que cela allait mettre fin à la scène » tout en « redoutant une pénétration. » Le président du CNC aurait ensuite tenté de lui imposer une fellation, en saisissant sa tête pour la ramener vers son sexe. Dégoûté, apeuré, Arthur serait parvenu à se dégager de l’emprise de son parrain, prétextant vouloir dormir.

A son réveil, Arthur reçoit un message de Dominique Boutonnat sur WhatsApp. Il lui raconte avoir croisé son épouse en sortant de la chambre du jeune homme vers 7 heures du matin. A elle, il a expliqué avoir dû raccompagner son filleul, totalement ivre, dans son lit. Détail troublant : ce message est effacé par son expéditeur dès qu’il va s’apercevoir que son filleul l’a lu.

Ce même matin, Dominique Boutonnat serait revenu dans la chambre d’Arthur au moment où celui-ci prenait sa douche. Il se serait rendu dans la salle de bains, lui aurait fait un câlin, l'embrassant sur la bouche.

Choc post-traumatique

Le 7 octobre 2020, soit plus de deux mois après les faits, Arthur porte plainte pour tentative de viol et agression sexuelle. Il apparaît alors très affecté par cette affaire, dit avoir perdu 10 kilos en trois semaines et avoir songé au suicide ou à la scarification. Expertisé par un psychiatre, il apparaît en « état de choc post-traumatique », note le médecin, « majoré par une anxiété généralisée, avec une faible capacité à verbaliser ses émotions. »

________

I remember reading this in le Monde a few years ago. But also remember a financial component. Maybe the money situation was the other "drama" at R42 with a stepson, not a godson.

I'd like to know how drunk the teen was that he couldn't refuse the handjobs. And the teen did refuse to give hot daddy a blowjob by simply leaving the room.

Gotta love contradictory and hilariously performative human sexual ethics.

Thanks, R43.

That read like a Harlequin Romance novel.

Sometimes when I hear of sexual assault allegations, it just sounds like a bad date or someone was rejected after making a move.

This is what my translator came up with for R43:

[quote] Around the pool, the conversation drags on. Arthur lets himself go to a few confessions, with the help of alcohol. According to the story he would later tell, his godfather encouraged him to get drunk. At a very late hour of the night, Dominique Boutonnat also offered his godson a midnight swim. When he got out of the water, Arthur would have wrapped himself in a towel that would have slipped off just as he was about to take a photo of the sunrise, leaving him totally naked. The producer then took a picture of him, describing the scene as "grandiose".

[quote] According to Arthur, Dominique Boutonnat then approached, to hug him "quite strongly", while complimenting him on his physique. The young man, very embarrassed by this rapprochement, is said to have moved aside, under the pretext of wanting to go to bed. But Dominique Boutonnat followed him to his room on the ground floor.

[quote] Disgusted, scared

[quote] There, "he lies down next to me telling me that he's very tired. He starts talking about our relationship, insisting on the fact that we have an incredible relationship, that it's crazy, that it's crazy, that it's something to protect. As he says that, he starts to get closer to me. He puts his mouth on mine and has tried to insert his tongue into it. I don't do anything to revive him, I remain stoic. I feel that he is starting to get excited, his breathing intensifies. He's completely rubbing up against me. I realize that he is naked.

[quote] Everything happens very quickly and I can't get away. He kisses me on the neck, on the chest." Then, the producer allegedly masturbated him "violently", Arthur also submitting to forced masturbation, "thinking that it would end the scene" while "fearing penetration". The president of the CNC then tried to impose fellatio on her, grabbing her head to bring it back to his genitals. Disgusted and frightened, Arthur managed to free himself from his godfather's grip, under the pretext of wanting to sleep.

[quote] When he woke up, Arthur received a message from Dominique Boutonnat on WhatsApp. He told her that he had met his wife when he left the young man's room around 7 a.m. To her, he explained that he had to accompany his godson, totally drunk, to his bed. Disturbing detail: this message is deleted by its sender as soon as he notices that his godson has read it.

[quote] That same morning, Dominique Boutonnat returned to Arthur's room while he was taking his shower. He allegedly went to the bathroom, gave her a hug, kissed her on the mouth.

[quote] Post-traumatic shock

[quote] On October 7, 2020, more than two months after the facts, Arthur filed a complaint for attempted rape and sexual assault. He then appeared very affected by this case, said he had lost 10 kilos in three weeks and had thought about suicide or scarification. Assessed by a psychiatrist, he appeared to be in a "state of post-traumatic shock", notes the doctor, "aggravated by generalised anxiety, with a poor ability to verbalize his emotions".

sounds like somebody enjoyed getting a hand job but then felt guilty about it afterwards and created this silly ruckus .

[quote] Arthur would have wrapped himself in a towel that would have slipped off just as he was about to take a photo of the sunrise, leaving him totally naked. The producer then took a picture of him, describing the scene as "grandiose".

Grandiose?

Translation.... BIG DICK.

The 19 year old took the witness stand...

Closing argument....

If he gave him a hand job, the guy must’ve been hard. He wanted it!

I'm really not seeing the appeal of this kid.

Maybe he looks better naked.

But still... talk about AVERAGE.

His brother is Laurent Boutonnat, the former long time collaborator of Mylène Farmer

R52 : a 19 year old will get a hard-on from a gentle breeze.

An older man tried to masturbate him while on vacation? When I was young I would have considered that a slow weekend.

Paywalled Figaro review. Anyone can unlock it? Archive didn't work for me.

Groping is a sexual assault, r40. No one is giving this guy the death penalty. Stop being stupid. And groping someone without their permission is just as illegal here as it is in France

I wonder if he's a known pest and this is the episode they managed to get him on.

What are you doing? Not with my godson!

Mother, May I Get Groped By My Godfather?

At least the French system allowed him to keep his job while this drama played out.

And it worked just as it should, with him resigning from his position after the verdict was announced.

Unlike in the US, where the hysterical #metoo SHREWS demand the head of every man on a platter, and you are judged GUILTY without any proof or evidence.

In the US the word of a female is good enough to have a man locked up and his job taken away, which is why I'm glad that stupid #metoo movement is dead.

We need to maintain the rule of law, where people are INNOCENT until proven guilty, and not vice-versa.

Oh this is all so Gordon Merrick.

R62 is a sexist, right-winger. Probably someone who defends Andrew Tate

Arthur needs a fainting couch and The Vapors.

Since the godfather was so close to his godson, he must be a bit of an idiot if he couldn't read the teen. The godson is obviously a very delicate flower and a drama queen.

Meh!

19 year old me would have.

R45, I completely agree but the style of french journalism is very awkward and rather arabesque. It get on my nerves, they dramatize everything, even in serious newspapers. There’s nothing they love so much as a third person fictional account of true events.