Paul Haggis, the Oscar-winning Canadian screenwriter and director, has been arrested in Ostuni, Southern Italy, on suspicion of sexual assault and aggravated personal injury inflicted on an unidentified woman who has filed charges.
According to multiple Italian press reports and a letter from the public prosecutor of the nearby city of Brindisi, Haggis is accused of forcing a young “foreign” – meaning non-Italian – woman to engage in sexual intercourse over the course of two days in Ostuni, where he was scheduled to hold several master classes at the Allora Fest, a new film event founded by Los Angeles-based Italian journalist Silvia Bizio and Spanish art critic Sol Costales Doulton
“Under Italian Law, I cannot discuss the evidence,” Priya Chaudhry, Haggis’ longtime personal attorney, said in a statement. “Having said that, I am confident that all allegations levelled against Mr. Haggis will be dismissed.” He is completely innocent and willing to fully cooperate with the authorities so that the truth can be revealed as soon as possible.”
The Allora Fest said in a statement that they “learned with dismay and shock that Paul Haggis is in custody for alleged violence.”
The festival’s directors “immediately proceeded to remove the director’s participation from the event,” they added, and “at the same time, they express full solidarity with the woman involved.”
“Among the themes selected for the festival are those of solidarity, gender equality, and equality of opportunity. The statement said, “As professionals and women, they are appalled and hope that the festival will help create greater information and awareness on such a vital subject.
The alleged victim was allegedly transported by Haggis to the Papola Casale airport in Brindisi after being abused and abandoned there at the crack of dawn on Friday despite her “precarious physical and psychological circumstances,” according to an Italian police complaint.
The alleged rape victim was helped at the airport by the airport employees and border police, who, after giving her first aid, accompanied her to the offices of the Italian squadra mobile police unit, according to the report. Once in Brindisi, where Italy’s so-called “pink protocol” for rape victims was in place, police officers escorted the woman to the A. Perrino hospital.
Publicist Haleigh Breest, who claimed that Haggis had forcefully raped her after a premiere in 2013, filed a lawsuit against the Oscar-winning author of “Million Dollar Baby” and “Crash,” both of which he co-wrote and directed. Three more women accused Haggis of sexual misconduct as a result of the lawsuit, though he adamantly denies the allegations. Due to COVID delays, the trial is still ongoing.