Gerard Depardieu sentenced to 18 months in prison on sexual assault conviction

French actor Gerard Depardieu was found guilty Tuesday of sexually assaulting two women during a film shoot.

The 76-year-old actor was convicted in a Paris courtroom although he was not present at the time as he was working on a film set located in the Azores. He received a suspended jail term of 18 months, was ordered to compensate each victim around $1,100 and was also placed on a list of sex offenders.

The allegations against him came from incidents on the film production set for the movie "Les Volets verts" in 2021, as two women on the shoot accused Depardieu of groping them.

Attorney Carine Durrieu-Diebolt, who represented both victims, told the press she hoped that "with this verdict, no one can say Gerard Depardieu is not a sexual predator, and that's very important."

Depardieu's trial was seen as a critical juncture for the French film industry, which has been considered to be especially slow and hesitant toward taking women's claims of abuse seriously. A parliamentary report by French politicians determined last month that sexual harassment and violence were "endemic" in France's entertainment industry, and that both children and women were being actively victimized.

Depardieu has denied the allegations against him and his attorney said he will appeal the verdict. (UPI)