Oscar-winning director Paul Haggis arrested in Italy on sexual assault charges
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OSCAR-winning Canadian screenwriter and director Paul Haggis was arrested on Sunday (Jun 19) in southern Italy on charges of sexual assault and aggravated personal injury allegedly inflicted upon an unidentified woman. He has denied the accusations.
He was charged with forcing a young “foreign” (non-Italian) woman to undergo sexual intercourse over the course of two days in Ostuni, Italy, said a note from the public prosecutor of the nearby city of Brindisi.
Haggis’ lawyer Priya Chaudhry said in a statement to the press: “Under Italian Law, I cannot discuss the evidence. That said, I am confident that all allegations will be dismissed against Mr Haggis.” She added that Haggis would plead innocent and would cooperate with authorities.
The prosecutors said in a statement: “A young foreign woman was forced to seek medical care” following the sexual relations. On Sunday, after the non-consensual relations, that man accompanied the woman to Brindisi airport, and left her there, despite her “precarious physical and psychological condition”.
An investigative source told Reuters that the unidentified young woman will be questioned in the coming 10 days in what is known in Italy as an evidentiary incident, setting out evidence for a possible future trial.
Haggis wrote “Million Dollar Baby” and co-wrote and directed “Crash”, both of which he won an Oscar for.
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Haggis was in Ostuni to hold several masterclasses at the Allora Fest, a new film event being launched by Los Angeles-based Italian journalist Silvia Bizio and Spanish art critic Sol Costales Doulton. The festival runs in Ostuni from Jun 21 to Jun 26.
The Allora Fest said they “learned with dismay and shock the news that Paul Haggis is in custody for alleged violence”. It added that the festival’s directors “immediately proceeded to remove any participation of the director from the event.” REUTERS
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