Oscar winner Paul Haggis has been arrested in Italy on suspicion of sexual assault and assault. For two days, the director and screenwriter allegedly forced a young woman to have sex with him.
According to the website Variety According to the police report, Haggis dropped the woman off at Brindisi airport on Friday morning. Airport employees saw how the woman was in a critical condition physically and emotionally and came to her aid. The woman was taken to hospital by the police and subsequently filed a report.
The Italian news agencies ANSA in AGI report that the Public Prosecution Service in Brindisi strongly suspects Haggis of assault with aggravating circumstances and serious bodily harm, crimes committed against a young foreign woman”.
Haggis, who including the film Crash (2004) wrote and directed, was in Italy to give a masterclass at the new cultural festival Allora Fest, which starts on Tuesday. The management of the event gives a statement that Haggis is no longer part of the festival program.
Haggis’s lawyer is late Variety knowing that the film-maker is “entirely innocent” and is cooperating with the authorities’ investigation “so that the truth will soon be revealed”.
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