Rape case against Paul Haggis in Italy is dismissed. His US lawyer suggests it was a setup
A rape case against 'Crash' Oscar winner Paul Haggis was dismissed Wednesday in Italy. On Thursday, his U.S. attorney suggested that the Italian allegations were planned to hurt his chances in a New York civil case that cost him $10 million.
A judge in the Italian city of Brindisi ruled that no sex acts took place without consent, Haggis' lawyers told Reuters on Wednesday. The woman had accused the writer-director of raping her repeatedly over the course of two days in 2022 while they were both in town for Allora Fest, an entertainment-industry event.
'For Mr. Haggis, it is the end of a nightmare that has unfairly shattered the career of a film genius and 2006 Oscar winner,' lawyers Michele Laforgia and Daniele Romeo said in a statement to the wire service.
After the criminal allegations were made, Haggis was detained by police in June, then held under house arrest at his hotel until he was ordered released on July 4, 2022. He maintained he was innocent of the charges.
'Being accused of sexual violence, something that I did not do, was devastating and something I hope no innocent person will ever experience,' Haggis said in a translated interview with Italian news outlet La Repubblica in July 2022. An Englishwoman who was 30 at the time said he forced her to have sex with him over two days at a bed-and-breakfast in Puglia and then dropped her off at a nearby airport while she was in a state of confusion.
'As I told the judge, my first mistake was allowing someone who I hardly knew to come and visit me. It was foolish,' Haggis said in the July 12, 2022, interview. 'The second mistake was on the last morning after an incident occurred that I personally found particularly unpleasant, I decided to end this situation; I took this person to the airport hours before her flight. I'm upset with myself for these errors in judgment but cannot comprehend that they resulted in false and damaging accusations against me.'
The 'Million Dollar Baby' writer said in the interview that he lost at least two writing jobs because of his arrest. On Thursday, the attorney who represented him in the October 2022 New York civil case said the Italian case may have been aimed at sabotaging her client before that trial began.
'It was always obvious that Paul was completely innocent [in the Italian case] — and that this woman lied,' attorney Priya Chaudhry said in a statement to The Times. 'The timing of the lie, and the inevitability that it would be exposed, strongly suggest her false accusation was planned to sabotage Paul's other case on the eve of trial — deliberately engineered to inflict maximum damage and sway media and public opinion.
'Everyone should now question the credibility of a verdict delivered in the shadow of a false criminal allegation — one strategically timed to generate global headlines, inflame public opinion, and irreparably taint the course of justice.'
Haggis was found liable in the New York case and ordered to pay $10 million to Haleigh Breest, a former publicist who worked the red carpets at movie premieres in the early 2010s. Breest accepted a ride home from Haggis after a premiere in January 2013 and agreed to go to his apartment for a drink instead of her suggestion that they go to a bar. She accused him of making her perform oral sex and then raping her. Haggis maintains that the encounter was consensual. He was not criminally charged.
Chaudhry also told The Times in a statement in 2022 that a fair trial for Haggis was 'impossible' once the judge admitted the statements of four additional women — three of whom didn't appear in court — who didn't go to the police with their complaints.
'I can't live with lies like this. I will die clearing my name,' Haggis said as he left court after the verdict, the Associated Press reported at the time.
A civil suit filed by Haggis before Breest filed her claim alleged that she and her attorney had attempted to extort $9 million in 'hush money' over what the director said was a false rape claim. An appeals court judge threw out Haggis' case in July 2018, saying it had no specific allegation that Breest threatened to go public with her claim if she weren't paid. The director abandoned his appeal of the decision in March 2019.
___
© 2025 Los Angeles Times.
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
USA Today
an hour ago
- USA Today
Colombian Senator Miguel Uribe shot at campaign event in Bogota
Julia Symmes Cobb and Lucinda Elliott Reuters BOGOTA, June 8 (Reuters) - Colombian Senator Miguel Uribe, a potential presidential contender, survived an initial operation for his injuries after being shot in Bogota on Saturday, according to his wife and the hospital treating him, although he remains in intensive care. Uribe, 39, is a member of the opposition right-wing Democratic Center party and was shot in the head during a campaign event in a public park in the Fontibon neighborhood. A boy under 15 years of age was arrested after the shooting, the attorney general's office said in a statement on Saturday, adding he was carrying a 9-millimeter Glock-type pistol. The government said it is investigating if there were other potential perpetrators. Leftist President Gustavo Petro urged an investigation into who had ordered the attack in remarks late on Saturday. Campaigning is just beginning for the country's 2026 presidential election and Uribe, who is from a prominent political family, does not have a well-known platform so far. It was unclear why he was targeted in the attack. Though he has talked about the need to improve security and about having personally suffered in the country's conflict, many other potential candidates, including others from his party, have also said steps must be taken to tackle crime. Uribe's grandfather was president from 1978 to 1982, while his mother, journalist Diana Turbay, was kidnapped in 1990 by an armed group under the command of the late cartel leader Pablo Escobar. She was killed during a rescue operation in 1991. "Miguel came out of surgery, he made it. Every hour is a critical hour. He fought his first battle, and it went well," his wife Maria Claudia Tarazona told local media on Sunday. "This will take time." The couple are parents to a young son. In a statement, the Santa Fe Foundation hospital where Uribe was treated said he had procedures on his head and his left thigh, and remained in intensive care as doctors seek to stabilize his condition. Uribe's party said in a statement that armed subjects shot him from behind. Videos on social media showed a man, identified as Uribe, being tended to after the shooting. He appeared to be bleeding from his head. Bogota's mayor, Carlos Galan, whose own presidential candidate father was assassinated in 1989, addressed journalists outside the hospital overnight, saying he had asked for increased protection for all candidates in Bogota and for Uribe's family. UNDER INVESTIGATION The Colombian government is offering some $730,000 as a reward for information in the case. "For now there is nothing more than hypothesis," Petro said, adding that failures in security protocols would also be looked into. Uribe had the bodyguard protection provided for senators and other officials. Petro sympathized with Uribe's family in a message on X, saying: "I don't know how to ease your pain. It is the pain of a mother lost, and of a homeland." People gathered outside the hospital in northern Bogota, staging candlelight vigils and praying, while others carried Colombian flags. A march of support was planned for Sunday. Several nations on Sunday including Brazil, Italy, Spain, Uruguay and Paraguay condemned the attack, as did the Venezuelan government and opposition. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement that the U.S. "condemns in the strongest possible terms the attempted assassination" of Uribe, blaming Petro's "inflammatory rhetoric" for the violence. Petro was an outspoken critic of President Donald Trump's deportation policies earlier this year, but has been less vocal since Trump threatened to impose tariffs and sanctions on the Andean country. Colombia has for decades been embroiled in a conflict between leftist rebels, criminal groups descended from right-wing paramilitaries, and the government. (Reporting by Julia Symmes Cobb and Lucinda Elliott, additional reporting by Carlos Vargas, Luisa Gonzalez, Graham Keeley, Vivian Sequera and Nelson Bocanegra, Writing by Lucinda Elliott and Julia Symmes Cobb, Editing by Christian Plumb, Michael Perry, David Holmes and Nia Williams)
Yahoo
4 hours ago
- Yahoo
Kansas teen dies after Polaris UTV strikes embankment and overturns
A 16-year-old teen died after a crash involving a utility task vehicle Saturday night in eastern Kansas. The teen was identified as Wyatt Witham, of Kincaid, Kansas Highway Patrol crash logs show. The crash was reported at 11:39 p.m. in rural Anderson County, roughly two miles west of Garnett. Witham was driving a Polaris Ranger UTV heading south on Marshall Road and attempted to turn east onto 1750 Road, according to the crash report. For unknown reasons, the UTV struck an embankment and overturned onto the driver's side, the crash report said. Witham died at the scene of the crash from his injuries. Two other occupants, a 14 and 15-year-old boys, had minor or no injuries, according to the KHP. Both of the occupants are from Garnett.
Yahoo
5 hours ago
- Yahoo
1 dead, 6 others injured in collision in King Township: York police
One person is dead after a two-vehicle crash in King Township Sunday, said York police. The collision happened in the Jane Street and 16th Sideroad area just after 2:15 p.m. One person was pronounced dead, police said. Six other people were injured, but are in stable condition, police said. Roads in the area were closed for investigation, but have since reopened. Any witnesses are being asked to contact York police.
