Paul Haggis 'totally innocent' following sexual assault arrest in Italy, attorney says
foxnews.comPaul Haggis' lawyer claimed the Oscar-winning director is "totally innocent" after reports surfaced he was arrested in the southern region of Italy on Sunday and placed under investigation of allegations that he sexually assaulted a woman. "Under Italian Law, I cannot discuss the evidence," Haggis' lawyer Priya Chaudhry told Fox News Digital. "That said, I am confident that all allegations will be dismissed against Mr.
Haggis. "He is totally innocent, and willing to fully cooperate with the authorities so the truth comes out quickly." Haggis, 69, has been in Italy for the Allora film festival that begins on Tuesday in Ostuni, a tourist town in Puglia, the region that forms the "heel" of the Italian peninsula.
Paul Haggis attends the AmiCorti Film Festival 2021 on June 16, 2021 in Peveragno, Italy. (Daniele Venturelli) The news agency LaPresse, and several additional Italian media groups, carried a written statement from prosecutors in the city of Brindisi that they were investigating allegations a "young foreign woman" — meaning non-Italian — was forced to have "non-consensual" sexual relations over two days with the Canadian screenwriter.
Prosecutors Antonio Negro and Livia Orlando, who are conducting the investigation, said in the statement that the woman was "forced to seek medical care" following the sexual encounters.
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