Shocking Testimony in Athens Court in Actor’s Rape Trial
With shocking new details, the Athens Court of Justice today continued the trial of a 43-year-old actor, accused of two attempted rapes against a young woman — the sister of a well-known actress with an international career — as well as the rape of another woman.
Today, the sister of the first complainant, whom the defendant allegedly attempted to rape twice in December 2012, took the stand to testify as a witness.
The witness — herself an internationally recognized actress — had previously been in a relationship with the defendant and had also accused him of raping her. However, her own complaint was eventually filed away and never reached trial.
In her emotional testimony, the 33-year-old actress described not only how she felt when her younger sister revealed that the defendant had assaulted her, but also what she herself experienced during their relationship, when he allegedly raped her.
Among those present in the courtroom was film director Giorgos Lanthimos, who has worked with the witness in the past. Mr. Lanthimos’s wife is also expected to testify in the case.
“My sister and I are very close. I always remember my parents worrying about her — she was depressed,” the 33-year-old witness began, recounting the emotional struggles her sister faced, even attempting suicide at one point.
“Looking back, I understood why my sister behaved that way. The defendant was someone we trusted — he was in our home. He was raping my sister, and that’s why she was falling apart,” she told the court, describing the shock she felt when her sister finally confided in her.
“I was in shock… I panicked. There were many incidents,” she continued, explaining that she immediately called the defendant. But, according to her testimony, he neither denied the allegations nor seemed to grasp the gravity of what he had done. “He said, ‘You know how I am. I liked her body. Why are you reacting like this?’ He didn’t deny anything — he was just crying.”
The actress broke down as she described how the ordeal had haunted her family:
“These are things we’ve tried for years to forget because they destroyed us. This man was part of our family — my parents helped him with everything…”
She went on to explain that it was only after the rise of the #MeToo movement that she and others found the strength to speak up.
“When the revelations started, I began talking to friends. Many told me, ‘I know someone who went through the same thing.’ I must have received information about 10 to 15 girls,” she said.
Judge: “Did you encourage any women to report him?”
Witness: “No, because before 2021, we hadn’t even done it for ourselves…”
Visibly emotional, the actress also spoke about her own alleged abuse by the defendant while they were a couple. She said she had fallen in love with him and saw him as a “mentor and teacher.”
“I believed what happened to me was unique — that it only happened to me. He would force us to have sex while reciting a monologue,” she testified, adding that she never suspected he had also assaulted her underage sister.
“You’re asking me to remember events before and after things I didn’t know… I remember my own rape — the pain, the crying…” she said through tears.
Judge: “Was there an unspoken rule that young women in this environment had to tolerate such behavior?”
Witness: “There were many abusive teachers… I remember thinking the first time that maybe it was my fault — that somehow, I had caused it.”
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