Pippa Middleton is the sister of Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, née Kate Middleton, Prince William's wife.

Her father-in-law, David Matthews, has recently been charged with rape of a minor by French police. He was arrested at a Paris airport last week, and an investigation was opened. His niece accuses him of having raped her 20 years ago. Matthews has been released on bail.

You can read @GlobalSouth's Voat thread about it here.

Matthews is a self-made millionaire who owns the exclusive hotel 'Eden Rock' on the Caribbean island St. Barths.

He has been charged for two rapes at the end of the 1990s - one in Paris in 1998, one on St. Barths in 1999, when his niece was 15 and 16 yrs. old, respectively.

The Daily Mail reports today:

His alleged victim, now aged 34, lives in the UK but is understood to have come forward to police in the French capital last year. Her mother is said to be 'helping her with the case'.

Her mother 'helping her' probably means she is willing to testify.

The chief of the local Police Territoriale in the port town of Gustavia said that he found out about the alleged sexual assaults in the newspaper last week.

'I tell you, we are very surprised,' he said. 'This is someone we know on the island who has contact with the President. I can't tell you any more.

What I found interesting is that David Matthews is represented by a law firm that has also represented the Royal Family:

Matthews is being represented by Farrer & Co, the London law firm which has represented members of the Royal Family for 300 years.

Currently, the hotel is closed.

Eden Rock is currently shuttered and undergoing extensive reconstruction after it was badly damaged during Hurricane Irma last September. Plans are for the hotel to reopen in winter 2018.

Staff and nearby shop owners told DailyMail.com that they had not seen Matthews for several weeks.

A lifelong resident interviewed by the Daily Mail said:

'There is no law for these people on the island – they can do whatever they want here.

People in DM's comment section defend Matthews, stating that it's odd his niece filed the complaint after 20 years.

Some additional information:

Statute of limitations for rape cases in France is 20 years after the victim has turned 18. The alleged victim in this case would have turned 18 in 2003. This means the case can be dealt with up until 2023.

If found guilty, he faces up to 15 years in prison for the crime of 'rape of a minor by a person of authority'.

The local police are not part of the investigation which is being led by the Juvenile Protection Brigade (BPM) in Paris.

@millennial_vulcan @exposethecriminals @carmencita @Blacksmith21 @TrishaUK