Jean-Claude Van Damme slams ‘grotesque’ sex trafficking allegations after criminal complaint

Veteran action star Jean-Claude Van Damme has slammed “grotesque” accusations he allegedly engaged in sex crimes.

Jean-Claude Van Damme is hitting back at accusations he allegedly had sex with five Romanian women he knew were trafficked.

“We have become aware of articles alleging an alleged affair in Cannes involving Mr. Jean-Claude Van Damme,” the action star’s agent, Patrick Goavec, said in a statement translated from French on Wednesday.

“The reported facts are both grotesque and non-existent,” Goavec told People. “Mr Van Damme does not wish to comment or fuel this rumour, which is as absurd as it is unfounded.”

The statement comes one week after CNN affiliate Antena 3 reported that a criminal complaint was filed with the Romanian Directorate for Investigating Organised Crime and Terrorism alleging that Van Damme, 64, had sexual relations with five women being trafficked by a criminal organisation led by Morel Bolea.

Jean-Claude Van Damme has hit back at sex trafficking allegations. Picture: Richard Bord/Getty Images

The alleged incidents took place in Cannes at an event organised by the Bloodsport star, and the women – all models – were allegedly offered as a “gift” to him, according to the complaint obtained by Antena 3.

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,” Adrian Cuculis, an lawyer for one of the alleged victims, told the news outlet.

The action star’s ream have called the claims “grotesque”. Picture: Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images

“At one point in Cannes, at an event organised by Jean-Claude Van Damme, several Romanians who are currently being investigated for the establishment of 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],” Cuculis said, per a translation.

“The person who received those benefits knew their condition,” Cuculis continued in the translated statement given to Antena 3. “From the witness statements, it is very clear that Jean-Claude Van Damme knew that these people were being exploited.”

One of the women who witnessed the alleged incident relayed the information to prosecutors, according to Antena 3. DIICOT subsequently opened a criminal investigation on the actor.

In a comment given to Page Six, Bolea called the report “completely fake news” and denied having a “connection with” Van Damme.

The case will proceed to the High Court of Cassation in France where criminal proceedings must be authorised. Per Antena 3, suspects in the case will be ordered to Romania to provide statements.

Van Damme last visited Australia in 2018 and mingled with likes of then-Minister for Foreign Affairs Julie Bishop. Picture: Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images

Cuculis told the outlet that the case is part of a larger investigation into trafficking, including trafficking of minors, that began five years ago in Romania.

Van Damme rose to fame in the late 1980s with Bloodsport and influenced the action genre with subsequent movies including Timecop, Street Fighter, Lionheart and The Expendables 2.

The actor has been married five times to four different women and has three children – Kristopher and Bianca Brigitte, whom he shares with third wife Gladys Portugues, and Nicholas, whom he shares with fourth wife Darcy LaPier.

In 2018, his son Nicholas pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct for allegedly holding a roommate at knifepoint in Phoenix. He was sentenced to 18 months of probation for the incident.

This article originally appeared in Page Six and was reproduced with permission