Given the nature of the hearing, Gérard Depardieu's conviction was hardly in doubt. His lawyer, Jérémie Assous, plans to appeal, but the Paris court's May 13 ruling sparked no debate. The focus has instead shifted to an unexpected and rare provision of that ruling. In addition to the 18-month suspended sentence and compensation for the moral harm caused by Depardieu's sexual assaults, the 10th chamber of the Paris court ordered the actor to pay €1,000 to his two victims for the "secondary victimization" they suffered – this time, during the hearing.
In the eyes of the court, the plaintiffs were "exposed to excessively harsh debates against them" due Assous's "highly offensive" defense, which caused them "harm distinct from that arising from the commission of the offense." Carine Durrieu-Diebolt, the lawyer for one of the two plaintiffs in the trial, said it was the "first time that secondary victimization has been acknowledged as such in a judicial decision in France."
The concept has featured in the jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) since 2015. It refers to the idea that the judicial process, from filing a complaint to the trial, can cause a victim of sexual violence additional suffering beyond that caused by the offense suffered, which must be remedied.
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