David Mathews: Pippa Middleton's father-in-law faces fresh charges for allegedly raping 16-yr-old in '90s
PARIS, FRANCE: Pippa Middleton's father-in-law faces fresh charges by the child protection unit in France, a few years after he was arrested for raping a minor. David Matthews, 79, was originally detained by French authorities in 2018 and is still being investigated for allegedly raping a 16-year-old girl twice between the years of 1998 and 1999, once in Paris and once on the Caribbean island of St. Barts, where he owns the £5,000-per-night Eden Rock hotel.
Detectives have launched another investigation concurrent with the current one, Daily Mail revealed. Prosecutors will only disclose that it is being processed by the same specialized Paris unit—the Brigade for the Protection of Minors—that deals with offenses against people who are less than 18 years old. It is reported that further allegations have been uncovered as a result of the prolonged initial investigation.
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David Mathews denied all claims
The former race car driver, Mr Matthews, whose son James Mathews married the sister of the Princess of Wales in 2017, adamantly denies any wrongdoing, and sources close to him claim that his legal team has not been informed of any fresh charges. He was seen last month escorting Pippa and her family to St. Barts when they arrived for a vacation. A spokesman for the Paris prosecutors stated, "The judicial investigation in which David Matthews has been indicted and placed under judicial control is in progress. I can also confirm a preliminary investigation entrusted to the Brigade for the Protection of Minors is also underway, implicating David Matthews."
Judge Jean Rea conducted two interviews with Mr. Matthews in Paris in 2021. After detaining him on a flight from the Caribbean to Paris in April 2018, police questioned him for the first time. He has already told pals that the complainant is "setting him up" to humiliate his family, which she vehemently disputed.
Alleged attacks left her feeling 'shocked and disgusted't
The girl's father said, "the idea she is doing this for compensation or any reason other than a desire for justice is completely wrong," in an exclusive interview with DailyMail in 2018. Because the alleged attacks left her feeling "shocked and disgusted." A British woman who cannot be named due to legal restrictions, said to French police last year that she originally held herself responsible.
She reportedly claimed to authorities she was groomed and attacked when she was just 15 years old, although the first alleged rape allegedly occurred when she was 16 years old. Eight years ago, she told her parents, who were "extremely astonished" by her testimony. Her father said, "She told me, 'You don’t know what I’ve been going through all these years.' Then it all came pouring out. She said it had been a burden because she had kept it bottled up for so long. It’s caused her an immense emotional strain." The allegations against Mr. Matthews may have been time-barred since there existed a 20-year statute of limitations in France for rape prosecutions at the time of his arrest. New legislation in 2018 increased this period to 30 years for complainants under 18 years old.