VENGEFUL SCIENTOLOGY FRAMED ME FOR RAPE!
Oscar winner Haggis defected from church
OSCAR-WINNING filmmaker Paul Haggis claims a civil lawsuit accusing him of sexual assault was orchestrated by vengeful Scientology church officials to punish him for leaving the church!
The 69-year-old writer and director of the Academy Award–winning 2005 release Crash says the suit lodged by publicist Haleigh Breest, who claims he raped her during a 2013 one-night stand, was fueled by the controversial church after he defected and then spent years criticizing Scientology’s practices. Haggis’ attorneys want his jury to hear claims that church officials told Breest and four other unnamed women attached to the suit to make their complaints.
“The prosecution of this lawsuit is part of the church’s vendetta against Haggis for breaking with it years ago,” his lawyers write in a court filing.
Haggis, who left Scientology in 2009 after 30 years, also claims the church tried to dig up dirt on him and persuaded women to falsely accuse him of sexual misconduct, according to papers filed in Manhattan Supreme Court. Haggis’ filing further claims he reported Breest for trying to extort $9 million from him before she filed her court accusation. He insists she never went to police to file a criminal complaint against him for the alleged assault.
His attorney Priya Chaudhry tells The National ENQUIRER, “Everyone, especially Haleigh Breest, knows these things are true: Paul Haggis is a marked man by Scientology, Haleigh Breest demanded $9 million from him, and Paul
Haggis is the only one to have gone to the District Attorney.” The court papers add Breest “knows full well that if the jury is provided all necessary background information — including Haggis’ history with Scientology, Breest’s attempt to extort money from Haggis, and the fact that Haggis reported Breest to the New York County District Attorney’s Office for extortion — the jury will find that Haggis did not sexually assault Breest.” Haggis is also petitioning the court to block Breest’s attorneys from using testimony from four more accusers who say he assaulted them, claiming it would prejudice the jury against him.
Firing back, Breest calls
Haggis’ charges against the church a “conspiracy theory” simply meant to “distract” from the core question in the case — whether he raped her. She is also insisting the jury hear about Haggis’ recent arrest in Italy on accusations he twice raped a British woman earlier this year. He was released from custody in an Italian hotel after officials found “numerous inconsistencies and contradictions” in her testimony.
A Scientology rep tells
The ENQUIRER Haggis has
“no credibility” and none of his accusers have any “connection with the church.” The spokesperson also insists the church has played no part in Breest’s lawsuit.