Director is held in sex case
Haggis accused of assaulting woman over 2 days in Italy
Film director Paul Haggis was detained in Italy on Sunday after being accused of sexually assaulting a woman, local reports say.
Haggis, 69, who wrote and directed the Oscar-winning 2005 movie “Crash,” is being investigated over allegations that he forced a “young foreign woman” to have “nonconsensual” sex with him over the course of two days, reports said, citing prosecutors in the southern city of Brindisi.
Many of the details of the allegations remain unclear, but prosecutors Antonio Negro and Livia Orlando said in a statement that the woman needed medical care after the alleged encounter.
“The woman was accompanied by the man” to Brindisi Airport in the Puglia region Sunday and “was left there at dawn despite [her] precarious physical and psychological conditions,” the statement said.
Haggis was in the nearby city of Ostuni for the Allora international film festival
According to The Daily Beast, Haggis allegedly held the woman captive in his hotel room. Citing a local police source, the news site reported that he tried to fly the woman out of Italy and left her at the airport when she resisted.
Employees at the airport brought the woman to police, who took her to the hospital, The Daily Beast reported.
It was unclear where Haggis was being detained.
Italian authorities said the unidentified woman “formalized her complaint and cited circumstances which were subsequently looked into for confirmation by investigators.”
Hollywood acclaim
The Canadian-born Haggis is an acclaimed director, writer and producer. In 2006, he took home the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay for “Crash,” which also won Best Picture.
He also wrote and produced 2004’s “Million Dollar Baby” and was a screenwriter for the James Bond film “Casino Royale” and story writer for “Letters from Iwo Jima,” both released in 2006.
Haggis’ lawyer, Priya Chaudhry, denied the accusation.
“I am confident that all allegations will be dismissed against Mr. Haggis,” the attorney said. “He is totally innocent and willing to fully cooperate with the authorities so the truth comes out quickly.”