Canadian director and screenwriter Paul Haggis, winner of an Oscar in 2006 for
Crash,
has been arrested this Sunday in southern Italy accused of sexually abusing a woman for two days.
The 69-year-old director is accused of the crimes of sexual violence and aggravated personal injury.
The arrest occurred in Ostuni, a town in the Apulia region located between Bari and Brindisi, where he was to participate in the Allora Fest film and music festival, as reported by Italian public television RAI, citing the Prosecutor's Office.
Since 2017, Haggis has been denounced by four women in the United States, who have accused him of crimes ranging from sexual harassment to rape.
Haggis, according to local media, has released some brief statements through his lawyer: "Make inquiries as soon as possible, I am totally innocent."
Italian investigators maintain that the director allegedly forced a young woman, whom he previously knew and who had been staying at his apartment, to have sex for two days, after which he abandoned her at dawn at Papola Casale airport, nearby. to Brindisi, despite their "precarious" physical and psychological conditions.
The woman, who is not of Italian nationality, was assisted by airport and customs police personnel, who accompanied her to file the complaint, and later took her to the Brindisi hospital, where the protocol provided for the victims was activated. of sexual violence.
Author of the screenplays for
Million Dollar Baby,
Casino Royal
, and
Quantum of Solace
, the latter two from the Agent 007 series, and director of
In the Valley of Elah
and the miniseries
Show Me a Hero
, Haggis is being held in custody , according to the order issued by prosecutor Antonio Negro and his deputy Livia Orlando.
"According to the elements collected, the investigated would have forced the young woman, known to him for a long time, to have sexual relations," the prosecutors maintain.
If the accusations are confirmed, the filmmaker would face sentences of six to twelve years in prison for the crime of sexual assault and six months to three years for injuries.
Accusations of four other women
It is not the first time that Haggis has been denounced for sexual violence.
In recent years, four women have accused the filmmaker in the United States of episodes ranging from sexual assault to harassment or rape, and that he has denied.
In 2017, publicist Haleigh Breest filed a civil lawsuit against him in New York in which she claimed to have been raped by Haggis after a premiere in 2013. The alleged victim, who was 26 at the time, maintains that the screenwriter invited her to have a drink at her house and once there, he behaved violently, tore off her stockings and raped her.
Since then he has been denounced by three other women.
Haggis has denied the allegations, saying his relationship with the publicist was consensual.
And he in turn tried to sue Breest for defamation, for false accusation and because she had allegedly demanded nine million dollars from him to solve the case, a circumstance that he interpreted as an extortion attempt.
This lawsuit was dismissed by the judge.
In the last decade, the filmmaker has been involved in other controversies, especially due to his confrontation with the Church of Scientology, of which he was a member for 35 years and which he left in 2009 as a result of the positions of the religious organization founded by Ron Hubbard against gay marriage.