A French court questioned Pippa Middleton's father-in-law David Matthews over allegations that he raped a 16-year-old girl in the late 90s, four years after the charges originally surfaced. Matthews was interrogated by Judge Jean Rea in Paris on June 16 and December 7, 2021, according to The Mail.
Matthews was detained for 48 hours before being charged with two charges of rape. He categorically disputes the charges. The matter was referred to a judge to determine whether it should go to a full trial, but it has dragged on for years due to judicial delays and the Coronavirus pandemic. A court spokeswoman in Paris acknowledged the matter as "ongoing", adding, "No hearing date has therefore been set." Matthews, who declined to speak over the issue this weekend, had previously told associates that he is being "set up" by the lady to "cause his family embarrassment," which she denies. The accuser's father stated in an interview with the MoS, "The idea that she is doing this for compensation or for any reason other than a desire for justice is completely wrong."
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The accuser, who was only a teenager when the incident occurred, claimed that Matthews raped her on two occasions between 1998 and 1999, first time in Paris and then again on the Caribbean island of St Barts. Matthews owns the £5,000-a-night Eden Rock hotel.
According to the MoS, the accuser informed police that she was initially attacked when she was 15, but the first alleged rape occurred when she was 16. At the time of Matthews' arrest, the statute of limitations for a rape prosecution in France was two decades, implying that the charges may have been time-barred. In 2018, the new legislation increased it to 30 years for complainants under the age of 18.
Who is David Matthews?
David Matthews, the son of a Rotherham coal miner, amassed a £40 million fortune by selling a used car business and moving into property development and hotel ownership. In 1971, he won the British Touring Car Championships division title.
His first marriage was to Anita Taylor, the first woman racing driver in the United Kingdom. They had one daughter, Nina, before divorcing in 1969. He later married artist Jane Parker, who is now 74 years old. They had three boys - James, Spencer, and Michael.
Their eldest son James, 42, followed David into the racing car company before transitioning into securities trading. He married Pippa Middleton, 34, in a grandiose May 2017 ceremony attended by her older sister, the Duchess of Cambridge, and her husband Prince William as well as his brother Prince Harry, and Meghan Markle. Prince George and Princess Charlotte, Prince William and Kate's children, were the page boy and flower girl in the ceremony. Michael Matthews, a derivatives trader, died at the age of 22 while descending Mt Everest in 1999, having been the youngest Briton to climb the world's highest mountain. In his honor, the Matthews family established an educational foundation. Spencer, the youngest son, is a reality TV personality.
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