French artist Claude Lévêque has been indicted for rape and sexual assault on minors under the age of 15. The charges were brought on March 31 and made public on Friday June 23 by the prosecutor’s office in Bobigny, in the northeast suburb of Paris, where the artist lives.
The 70-year-old artist was released under judicial supervision but is not allowed to leave France, according to the prosecutor. His lawyer, Patrick Klugman, declined to comment but Lévêque asked the magistrates to lift the ban.
The investigation opened in 2019 when the French culture ministry informed the prosecution of allegations made by Laurent Foulon, an art teacher and sculptor, who said he had been raped by the artist in the 1980s between the ages 10 and 17. Lévêque denied the allegations. and his lawyer at the time, Emmanuel Pierrat, claims that several witnesses confirmed his version. The artist even hinted that he could have been the victim of blackmail. The case was dismissed but Foulon said The world that he had acted “to protect other potential victims”.
Two brothers then testified to having been abused by Lévêque in the late 1990s, between the ages of 13 and 17. The prosecutor said these allegations are not covered by the statute of limitations.
Lévêque, who works in multicolored neon, represented France at the Venice Biennale in 2009 and had the rare honor of an exhibition devoted to his work at the Louvre Museum.
The Kamel Menour Gallery suspended representation of the artist when the first accusations surfaced and his permanent installation was removed from the Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art in Geneva.
