Oscar-winning director and writer Paul Haggis was arrested on Sunday for aggravated sexual assault and aggravated personal injury in the southern Italian town of Ostuni, according to local police.
According to a statement from the prosecutor’s office in the nearby city of Brindisi, which ordered his arrest, the prosecutor was not Italian. The statement identifies the man who was arrested as a PH, Canadian; Vincenzo Leo, the Italian local police service officer, confirmed that it was Mr. Haggis.
The statement said that after two days of “non-consensual intercourse”, he took the woman to the Papola Casale airport in Brindisi on Friday and left her there “in the first light of dawn, despite the precarious physical and psychological conditions. of the woman. ”
Airport staff and border police observed her at the airport in a “state of confusion”, attended her and took her to the local police office, the statement continued. She was then taken to a hospital where she was treated following a protocol used in Italy for victims of violence against women; he later reported the violence to police.
According to the allegations, Mr Haggis, 69, “allegedly forced the young woman, whom he had met some time ago, to have sex.”
“I am confident that all allegations against Mr. Haggis will be dismissed,” said Priya Chaudhry, a lawyer for Mr. Haggis. Haggis, in an email. “He is completely innocent and willing to cooperate fully with the authorities so that the truth will come out quickly.”
Mr. Haggis, who won a screenplay Oscar in 2006 for the crime drama “Crash” and wrote acclaimed films such as “Million Dollar Baby,” was in the southern city to attend the Allora Film Festival. take part. in tables and debates with the public, from June 21, according to the festival program.
Haggis was charged with sexual assault in New York in 2017 by a publicist, Haleigh Breest. Ms. Breest accused Mr. Haggis must have forced her to have oral sex before raping her after a premiere in 2013. Mr. Haggis said the meeting with Ms Breest was consensual.
Following the lawsuit, which is still pending due to delays related to the coronavirus pandemic, three other women accused Mr. Haggis of sexually assaulting them, according to The Associated Press.
Mr.’s lawyer Haggis Christine Lepera has denied the other three charges, saying she “did not rape anyone,” according to the AP report.
Mr. Haggis began as a television writer in the 1980s and helped create several series, including “Walker, Texas Ranger,” the long-running drama starring Chuck Norris. But he is perhaps best known for his film work, in particular “Crash,” the 2005 ensemble drama he directed and co-wrote. The film won Best Picture at the Academy Awards, as well as Best Original Screenplay for Mr. Haggis and Bobby Moresco.
In 2009, Mr. Haggis left the Church of Scientology in support of Proposition 8, a ban on same-sex marriage passed by California voters and later repealed. In a letter of resignation circulating in Hollywood, Mr. Haggis wrote that the church’s position was “a stain on the integrity of our organization and a stain on us personally.” In the documentary “Going Clear” and elsewhere, Mr. Haggis has become one of the most prominent critics of the church. And he said that in response, the church has launched a harassment campaign.
In a court appearance last year, Mr. Haggis claimed that the pending sexual assault lawsuit in New York had essentially frozen his career, leaving him unable to work as a director or producer.
“I have had discussions with producers and financiers, but I have been repeatedly told that they cannot work with me until I clear my name,” he wrote in the file, which was presented as part of a motion that only · Asked the court to set a trial date. .
Stephanie Goodman contributed to the report.