Pippa Middleton’s father-in-law is facing ongoing police scrutiny – five years after being accused of raping a minor.
David Matthews, 79, was first arrested by French police in 2018 and is still under investigation over allegations he raped a 16-year-old girl twice between 1998 and 1999 – first in Paris and then again at the Caribbean island of St. Barts, where he owns the £5,000-a-night Eden Rock hotel.
But The Mail on Sunday can reveal that detectives have launched another investigation that is now running alongside the current one.
Prosecutors will only confirm that it is being handled by the same specialized Parisian unit – the Brigade for the Protection of Minors – that deals with crimes against under-18s. Further allegations were alleged to have surfaced during the lengthy original investigation.
Mr Matthews, a former racing driver whose son James married the Princess of Wales’s sister in 2017, has vehemently denied all allegations and sources close to him said his legal team have not been made aware of any new allegations. Last month, he was photographed greeting Pippa and her family as they arrived for a vacation in St. Barts.
David Matthews (right), 79, was first arrested by French police in 2018 and remains under investigation over allegations he raped a 16-year-old girl twice between 1998 and 1999
A spokesman for Paris prosecutors said: ‘The judicial investigation in which David Matthews has been charged and placed under judicial supervision is ongoing. I can also confirm that a preliminary investigation entrusted to the Brigade for the Protection of Minors involving David Matthews is underway.”
He said he could not provide further details.
Mr Matthews was interviewed twice in 2021 by Judge Jean Rea in Paris. Police first questioned him in April 2018 after arresting him as he flew to Paris from the Caribbean. He has previously claimed to friends that he was “set up” by the original accuser to “embarrass his family.” She angrily denies this.
In a 2018 interview with the MoS, her father said, “The idea that she’s doing this for compensation or for any reason other than a desire for justice is completely wrong.”
His daughter, who is British but cannot be identified for legal reasons, told French police last year that she initially blamed herself for the alleged attacks, which she said left her “shocked and disgusted”.
She reportedly told police she had been groomed and abused when she had just turned 15, but that the first alleged rape happened when she was 16.
Eight years ago, she confided in her parents and her account left them ‘incredibly shocked’.
Her father said, “She told me, ‘You don’t know what I’ve been through all these years.’ Then it all came out. She said it had been a burden because she had bottled it up for so long. It has given her enormous emotional tension.’
The statute of limitations for rape prosecutions in France was two decades at the time of Mr Matthews’ arrest, meaning the charges could have been time-barred. A new law in 2018 extended this to 30 years for complainants under the age of 18.
Mr Matthews attended his son’s wedding to senior members of the royal family, including Prince William and Prince Harry.
The son of a Rotherham coal miner, he amassed a fortune of £40 million selling a used car business and moving through property development and hotel ownership.
Mr Matthews pictured with son James Matthews and daughter-in-law Pippa Middleton at their wedding
After leaving school, he became an apprentice garage mechanic. At the age of 19 he was selling cars door to door and in his spare time he pursued his love of car racing. His first marriage was to Anita Taylor, one of Britain’s first female racing drivers. They had a daughter, Nina, but divorced three years later in 1969.
He married artist Jane Parker for a second time, now 75, and after moving out of their bungalow in Rotherham, the couple lived on a 30-acre 18th-century estate in the Lincolnshire countryside. As their fortunes increased, spells lived in Paris and then Monaco.
They had three sons, James, Spencer and Michael – the latter died when he was 22 while on an expedition up Mount Everest.
Mr. Matthews ventured into hotels and bought Eden Rock in St. Barts in 1995. He and his wife now live on the island. He remains free on bail with no travel restrictions, but he is regularly summoned to Paris for interviews.
St Barts is a French island, so part of the European Union. Mr Matthews is not considered a flight risk, or likely to obstruct witnesses, and has fully cooperated with Paris authorities.