Paul Haggis Photo: Dimitrios Kambouris (Getty Images)
Filmmaker Paul Haggis has been released from house arrest in Italy after 16 days, according to a new report from Variety. The investigation into the allegations surrounding the alleged sexual assault of a 28-year-old woman over two days is ongoing, although Haggis has maintained his innocence in the matter.
As reported by the Italian news agency ANSA (per Rolling Stone), Judge Vilma Gili said the victim’s account of the charges “reveals a complex affair that negates the original sentence contained in the order.” In ending Haggis’ house arrest, the judge cited a “lack of restrictive violent behavior.”
In a statement to Variety, the director’s attorney, Michele Laforgia, said, “The rescinding order by the preliminary investigation judge not only acknowledges the lack of any safeguards, but also excludes ‘any violent or other coercive conduct’ by Paul Haggis.”
He continued: “This is an important result which confirms the version put forward from the first moment by Haggis about the voluntary nature of the relationship he had with the applicant and shows how our procedural system is capable of quickly correcting errors and restoring freedom to those who are entitled to it.”
“We are confident that in just as short a time it will be possible to definitively clarify that Haggis did not commit any crime and that he is completely innocent of this terrible charge, as we have always said,” concluded the lawyer.
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According to a police report obtained by The Daily Beast, Haggis’ accuser claimed, “I was raped for days. We were supposed to work together but instead he raped me from Sunday night to Wednesday. A flight attendant who found the woman “curled up in a corner” at the airport where Haggis allegedly left her said the victim was “devastated” and “had a hard time talking”. The medical examiner’s report said “she was left unable to have sex from the violence” of the repeated assaults.
Haggis, who has multiple previous sexual assault allegations against him, will reportedly remain in Italy while prosecutors decide the next steps in the investigation.
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