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Jean-Claude Van Damme is reportedly the subject of criminal charges in Romania over allegations that he knowingly engaged in sexual relations with women trafficked by a criminal group.
The 64-year-old action star, known for his performances in Street Fighter and Double Impact, is accused of receiving five Romanian women as a “gift” from a group of traffickers while in Cannes, France.
According to a report by the local CNN affiliate Antena 3, a criminal complaint has been filed with the Romanian Directorate for Investigating Organized Crime and Terrorism (DIICOT).
The Independent has approached Van Damme’s representatives and DIICOT for comment.
DIICOT launched their investigation after a woman allegedly witnessed the incident at an event organized by Van Damme in Cannes and shared what she had seen with prosecutors, according to the outlet.
Antena 3 quotes attorney Adrian Cuculis, who is representing one of the victims, as saying that “several Romanians who are currently being investigated for forming a criminal group and pimping, allegedly offered Jean-Claude Van Damme five Romanian women — photo models in Romania — for him to have sexual relations with.”
Jean-Claude Van Damme in Paris, France in 2012 (Richard Bord/Getty Images)
Cuculis added that “the person who received those benefits knew their condition,” and that the women “were in a state of vulnerability, with the suspicion that they were exploited within the meaning of Article 182 of the Criminal Code.”
Cuculis told Antena 3 that the incident is part of a larger investigation into human trafficking and the trafficking of minors that has been carried out since 2020 by the Romanian Prosecutor’s Office.
The outlet also reports that as the incident occurred in Cannes, France’s High Court of Cassation will have to authorize criminal proceedings before the suspects identified in the case can be summoned to Romania to give statements.
Van Damme has been a mainstream action star since getting his break as the lead in the martial arts film Bloodsport in 1988.
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In the late 1980s and 1990s, he appeared in a string of hits, including Kickboxer, Double Impact, Universal Soldier, Timecop, Street Fighter, and Sudden Death.
His more recent roles include playing the villain in The Expendables 2 in 2012 and providing voice work for the 2022 family film Minions: The Rise of Gru.
He starred as himself in the second season episode “The One After the Super Bowl,” in which he was romantically pursued by both Monica (Courteney Cox) and Rachel (Jennifer Aniston).
While he hasn’t responded to director Michael Lembeck’s comments, Van Damme told the New York Post in 2023 that he was “ashamed” of his acting in the episode.
“My acting is so bad. I look so like a ham. Like, ‘Hey, girls.’ […] It’s like, I’m ashamed of myself,” said Van Damme. “So then I was on the set, and those girls, they go and they kiss me and they kiss me on the lips. I didn’t know what to do, how to do … It was strange. They were very nice.”
He added he knew little about the hit sitcom, saying: “I didn’t know much about the show. So when I go to the show, I see those two beautiful girls and they say this is the hottest show right now in the world. So I was very glad.”