A probe into a prominent French television journalist charged with rape has been widened to include allegations he also raped two more women and assaulted another, prosecutors said Wednesday, reports Yahoo! News.
Former prime-time news presenter Patrick Poivre d'Arvor, 76, was in December indicted* over the purported rape of writer Florence Porcel in 2009.
Investigators are now looking into claims of the rapes of two more women and a sexual assault of another committed between 2007 and 2018, which could lead to fresh charges, the prosecutor's office and a source close to the case said.
The ex-news anchor's lawyer was not immediately available for comment.
Investigators had looked into and dropped 19 other claims of sexual abuse or harassment against the journalist, the prosecutor's office said.
Read more of this report from Yahoo! News.
*Editor's note: Under a change to the French legal system introduced in 1993, a magistrate can decide if a suspect should be 'placed under investigation' (mis en examen), which is a status one step short of being charged (inculpé), if there is 'serious or concordant' evidence that they committed a crime. Some English-language media describe this status, peculiar to French criminal law, as that of being charged. In fact, it is only at the end of an investigation that a decision can be made to bring charges, in which case the accused is automatically sent for trial.