French writer Frédéric Beigbeder was met by authorities on Tuesday following a complaint filed against him on July 23. After a few hours of police custody, a preliminary investigation into rape was opened, reports the daily Le Figaro.

According to various French media, the 58-year-old novelist presented himself at the Pau police station, in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques, on Tuesday morning before being released later in the day.

In a press release cited by Le Figaro, the public prosecutor of Pau, Rodolphe Jarry, indicates that Frédéric Beigbeder contests the facts with which he is accused. “At this stage, the preliminary investigation must continue,” it reads. The writer is still presumed innocent, the document adds.

Le Figaro indicates that the complainant spent a night with the writer last July. She would have had a consensual relationship with him, then a second, to which she would not have given her consent.

Frédéric Beigbeder is the author of numerous books, including 99 Francs, Une vie sans fin and Un roman français.