A rape case towards the Oscar winner “Crash” Paul Haggis was fired on Wednesday in Italy. Thursday, his American lawyer instructed that the Italian accusations had been deliberate to wreck his prospects in a civil case of New York that price him $ 10 million.
A choose within the Italian metropolis of Brindisi has established that no sexual acts came about with out consent, the Haggis attorneys stated Reuters on Wednesday. The girl had accused the writer-regista of getting repeatedly raped her over the course of two days in 2022 whereas they had been each within the metropolis for Allera Fest, an leisure occasion.
“For Mr. Haggis, it’s the finish of a nightmare that unjustly destroyed the profession of a genius of the movie and the winner of the 2006 Oscar,” stated the attorneys Michele Laforgia and Daniele Romeo in a declaration on the Filo service.
After the prison accusations had been made, Haggis was held by the police in June, then held underneath residence arrest in his resort till he was ordered to be launched on July 4, 2022. He claimed to be harmless of the accusations.
“Being accused of sexual violence, one thing I’ve not completed, has been devastating and one thing that I hope that no harmless particular person can ever expertise,” Haggis stated in an interview translated with Italians of stories The Republic In July 2022. An English girl who was 30 years outdated on the time stated that he compelled her to have intercourse with him for 2 days in a mattress and a break in Puglia after which dropped her to a close-by airport whereas in a state of confusion.
“As I stated to the choose, my first mistake was to permit somebody who didn’t know I came visiting me. He was silly,” Haggis stated in July 12, 2022, interview. “The second mistake was the final morning after an accident occurred that I personally discovered significantly disagreeable, I made a decision to finish this case; I introduced this particular person to the airport hours earlier than his flight. I used to be offended with myself for these errors of judgment however I am unable to perceive that they triggered false and dangerous accusations towards me.”
The author of the “Million Dollar Baby” stated within the interview that he had misplaced no less than two writing works due to his arrest. Thursday, the lawyer who represented him within the civil case of New York in October 2022 stated that the Italian case might have been geared toward sabotage his shopper earlier than the beginning of that course of.
“It was at all times apparent that Paolo was fully harmless (within the Italian case) – and that this girl lied,” stated lawyer Priya Chaudhry in an announcement to the Times. “The occasions of the lie and the inevitability that will have been uncovered, strongly counsel that its false accusation has been deliberate to sabotage the opposite case of Paul on the eve of the method – intentionally designed to inflict the utmost injury and oscillate the media and public opinion.
“Everyone ought to now query the credibility of a verdict held within the shade of a false prison accusation: a strategically well timed to generate world securities, inflame public and irreparably contaminated the course of justice.”
Haggis was held accountable within the case of New York and ordered to pay $ 10 million to Haleigh Breest, a former publicist who labored on the purple rugs on the previews of the movie within the early 2010 years. Breest accepted a passage residence from Haggis after a premiere in January 2013 and agreed to go to his residence for a drink as a substitute of his suggestion to go to a bar. He accused him of getting made it oral intercourse after which of elevating her. Haggis claims that the assembly was consensual. It has not been accused criminally.
Chaudhry additionally informed Times in a 2022 declaration {that a} honest trial for Haggis was “inconceivable” as soon as the choose admitted the statements of 4 extra girls – three of whom didn’t seem in court docket – who didn’t go to the police with their complaints.
“I am unable to dwell with lies like this. I’ll die to erase my title,” stated Haggis whereas leaving the court docket after the decision, in response to reviews from the Associated Press at that second.
A civil case introduced by Haggis earlier than Breest introduced her request stated that she and her lawyer had tried to extort $ 9 million in “cash of silence” on what the director stated it was a false request for rape. A choose of the Court of Appeal eradicated the case of Haggis in July 2018, stating that he had no particular cost that Breest had threatened to grow to be public along with his request if he had not been paid. The director deserted his attraction to the choice in March 2019.
