French actress claims Luc Besson raped, repeatedly attacked and used her as a sex puppet during an abusive two-year affair

  • Actress Sand Van Roy said Luc Besson attacked her at the Bristol Hotel in Paris
  • She claimed it took place after returning from this year's Cannes Film Festival
  • The 27-year-old said in an interview that she had 'so much pain that I passed out'
  • Besson's lawyer says director 'categorically denies these fantasist accusations' 

By Peter Allen In Paris for MailOnline

Published: 07:52 EDT, 18 July 2018 | Updated: 17:42 EDT, 18 July 2018

A film actress has accused French director Luc Besson of raping her at a five-star hotel in Paris, saying she had 'so much pain that I passed out'. 

Sand Van Roy, 27, claims the 59-year-old married father-of-five attacked her at the Bristol Hotel in the French capital after returning from this year's Cannes Film Festival.

She also claims he 'kept her in his grip' and 'used her as a sex puppet' by demanding she talk like a child and wear short skirts from 2016 to 2018.

Interviewed on the BFM TV news channel, Ms Van Roy renounced her right to anonymity, saying he created a 'father-daughter relationship' allowing him to repeatedly abuse her for two years. 

Recalling the night of May 18, she said: 'I was scared of dying, that was never very far away.'

Film actress Sand Van Roy (right) has accused director Luc Besson (left) of raping her at a five-star hotel in Paris, saying she had 'so much pain that I passed out'

Film actress Sand Van Roy (right) has accused director Luc Besson (left) of raping her at a five-star hotel in Paris, saying she had 'so much pain that I passed out'

Sand Van Roy (pictured), 27, claims the 59-year-old married father-of-five attacked her at the Bristol Hotel in the French capital after returning from this year's Cannes Film Festival

Sand Van Roy (pictured), 27, claims the 59-year-old married father-of-five attacked her at the Bristol Hotel in the French capital after returning from this year's Cannes Film Festival

She also claims he wanted her to 'dye myself blonde, speak like a child, and wear nothing but skirts' in between sex sessions. 

He ordered her to leave her model agency and to 'stop partying and seeing friends', she said. 

She claims Besson threatened to cut her appearance in Anna, a thriller starring Helen Mirren due for release next year, if she did not comply.

Miss Van Roy made her allegations in a series of high-profile media appearances. 

Besson's lawyer, Thierry Marembert, said the director – whose films include Subway, The Big Blue, Nikita, Leon and The Fifth Element – 'categorically denies these fantasist accusations' and would be presenting his evidence in court, not on TV.

He said Besson has 'never behaved inappropriately' towards Miss Van Roy.

During an interview with French TV news channel BFM, the actress told of her last night with Besson, on May 18, when she says he attacked her after they returned from the Cannes Film Festival.

She said: 'It was a crescendo, and even the next day I had so much pain that I passed out. And when it's as violent as that, that's called a rape.

'I said stop, I told him clearly – it's not just, no. There were tears, there was vomit. He forced humiliating sex acts on me. I showed my disgust. I showed that I did not want it. It's also a no.'

Miss Van Roy told France Info that during their affair Besson 'set up a father-daughter relationship', and alternated between compliments and criticism. He then made her his 'puppet, his object', she said. 

Sand Van Roy alleged that she was attacked at the five-star Bristol Hotel (pictured) in Paris, France

Sand Van Roy alleged that she was attacked at the five-star Bristol Hotel (pictured) in Paris, France

Ms Van Roy, who has appeared in two Besson films, is said to have 'drunk a cup of tea, felt unwell, and then lost consciousness' before Besson forced himself on her motionless body, according to an investigator.

Besson then left the Bristol at 2am, leaving cash for Ms Van Roy, but otherwise not saying a word.

The next day, she said that she realised her body had been violated, so went to a police station in the 20th arrondissement of Paris and filed a complaint for rape.

Officers in the French capital confirmed that Besson, who directed hit films including The Big Blue, Nikita, Leon, and the Fifth Element, was being investigated for rape.

Ms Van Roy first met Besson on the set of his film Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets, which stars pop star Rihanna and English model Cara Delevingne.

The film was co-produced by Besson's 46-year-old wife, Virginie Besson-Silla, who is also the mother of three of his children.

The family lives in Los Angeles, although Besson frequently returns from America to his native France, and particularly Paris, where he was born.

Besson is also the father of two daughters from previous relationships, including one with the actress Maiwenn Le Besco, who had their child Shanna when she was just 16.

Sand Van Roy, who is also French, began her career as a model, and then moved into acting.

The allegations cast a shadow over the Cannes film festival, where rumours of the Besson scandal were rife, as were discussions about the disgraced Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein, who stands accused of sexually abusing numerous women around the world. 

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Actress accuses director Luc Besson of raping her at hotel in Paris

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