Paul Haggis.Photo: Mark Sagliocco/FilmMagic
An Italian judge has reportedly grantedPaul Haggis' release from detainmentfollowing charges of sexual assault.
In his ruling, Judge Vilma Gilli of the Court of Brindisi said there was an “absence of constricting violent behavior” from Haggis, according to Italian news agencyANSA, adding that “the methods of meeting between the suspect and the offended person” were “spontaneous.”
The judge also reportedly noted “a complex story that blurs the original judgment expressed in the ordinance which had ordered house arrest for” the Canadian writer-director, 69.
Prosecutors said in their written statement that the woman was “forced to seek medical care” after the alleged incident, which they said occurred over the course of two days.
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Paul Haggis.Sebastian Reuter/Getty
Best known for writing and directing 2004’sCrash, Haggis was reportedly being detained in a hotel room in the city of Ostuni. Gilli previously ordered the two-timeAcademy Awardwinner to remain in the hotel room pending further review, theAPreports.
The filmmaker’s lawyer Michele Laforgia told the AP that Haggis is remaining in Italy for the time being, noting, “let’s see what the prosecutor’s office will do at this point.”
“We are confident that in an equally short time it will be possible to definitively clarify that Haggis did not commit any crime and he is completely innocent of this terrible accusation, as we have always said.”
The following month,three other woman came forwardto Breest’s attorneys. In a series of interviews with theAP, they provided details of their sexual-misconduct allegations, which allegedly stemmed from interactions they had with Haggis from 1996 through 2015, when they were still beginning their careers. One of Haggis' accusers claimed thatthe director and screenwriter raped her in 1996when she was 28 years old and working as a publicist. All of the women chose to remain anonymous.
In August 2018, Haggis said in part in a filed response that Breet’s claims were “shocking and scandalous claims of fiction” which he “vehemently denies.” Additionally, the director denied Breest “gave [him] oral sex” forcibly or without her consent, calling the moment consensual.
He alsodenied the claims in a statementprovided to PEOPLE at the time.
If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, please contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673) or go torainn.org.
source: people.com
