Shock as Pippa (and Vogue’s) father-in-law is charged with teen sex attack
PIPPA Middleton’s fatherin-law has been charged with raping a child, it emerged last night.
David Matthews, 74, allegedly carried out two offences between 1998-9, according to legal sources in France.
One is said to have happened in Paris and another on the Caribbean island of St Barts, where he owns a hotel. A woman lodged a complaint against Mr Matthews with French police last year and he was arrested after flying in to Paris Orly airport on Tuesday.
Mr Matthews’ financier son James married Pippa Middleton, the Duchess of Cambridge’s 34year-old sister, in an extravagant ceremony attended by royals and celebrities last May.
His youngest son, Made in Chelsea star Spencer, is engaged to Irish TV personality, Vogue Williams. The couple are expecting their first child together.
French media said last night that David Matthews was accused of raping a teenage girl shortly before she legally became an adult nearly two decades ago.
The wealthy businessman, who has an estimated £40million (€45million) fortune, was quizzed by police for 48 hours after he arrived in Paris. He had been heading to the South of France for a holiday over Easter.
Mr Matthews has been charged with the ‘rape of a minor by a person with authority over his victim’, a crime that is punishable by up to 15 years’ imprisonment in France. He has since been bailed.
The charge will now be subject to a judicial investigation. Mr Matthews is understood to strenuously deny all allegations.
A judicial source said: ‘I confirm that David Matthews was placed in police custody on 27 March at the Brigade for the Protection of Minors. Following his arrest, the Paris public prosecutor’s office opened a judicial investigation, overlooked by an examining magistrate, who charged him with the rape of a minor.
‘He was placed under judicial supervision by the investigating judge. The investigation alleges that the crimes were committed in 1998 and 1999. The investigations will now continue as a judicial investigation and will be led by an investigating judge.’
One of the alleged offences is said to have happened in 1998 on the Caribbean island of St Barts, where Mr Matthews owns a £5,000a-night hotel, the Eden Rock. The other alleged attack is said to have taken place in Paris in 1999.
Mr Matthews’ official status with French prosecutors is ‘mise en examen’, which is widely considered to be equivalent to a charge in the British criminal system.
Mr Matthews has now been released on bail, subject to undisclosed conditions. It is not known whether he has retained his passport, or if he can travel home.
Mr Matthews, who lives permanently on St Barts with his wife Jane, 70, originally spent a full 48 hours in custody in Paris – the maximum allowed under French criminal law before charges have been filed.