Paul Haggis Alleged Sexual Assault Case: More Details Emerge Ahead of Preliminary Hearing

variety.com:

Nick Vivarelli International CorrespondentAs “Crash” director Paul Haggis remains in custody in Italy, awaiting a Wednesday preliminary hearing on charges of sexual assault and aggravated personal injury allegedly inflicted on an unidentified young woman, more details about the case are surfacing.In a statement to Variety, Haggis’ Italian lawyer Michele Laforgia said that the director “immediately stated that he is completely innocent and hopes for the maximum speed of all necessary investigations to clarify the matter.” The lawyer added that “Haggis will answer all questions.” The filmmaker is currently in custody at a 5-star hotel in Ostuni, in southern Italy.According to multiple reports and sources, the alleged victim, who has pressed charges, is a British woman who is considerably younger than the 69-year-old filmmaker.

She is believed to be either in her 30s or early 40s. She and Haggis met at the end of April at a film festival, according to an article in well-respected Italian newspaper La Repubblica, whose journalist has seen a copy of the prosecutor’s report.

Haggis presided over the jury of the Monte-Carlo Comedy Film Festival (pictured above), which ran April 25-30. After the pair’s first encounter, Haggis and the alleged victim subsequently communicated via Instagram and text messages, according to the La Repubblica article.

The outlet also reports that the alleged victim arrived via a low-cost airline on Sunday, June 12, in Ostuni, a small tourist town in Puglia, the “heel” of southeastern Italy.During the course of the next two days, during which the woman and Haggis slept in the same hotel room, Haggis allegedly ”forced the young woman, known by him from some time ago, to submit to sexual relations,”.