Oscar-winning director Paul Haggis was arrested in Italy on Sunday on charges of sexual assault and aggravated personal injury, police said.
Haggis, 69, was in Italy for a film festival set to start Tuesday in the tourist town of Ostuni, in the southern Puglia region, according to The Associated Press.
Prosecutors in the nearby city of Brindisi said he was arrested in connection with allegations from a “young foreign woman” who alleged that she was forced to have nonconsensual sexual relations over a two-day period.
Priya Chaudhry, an attorney for Haggis, said the Canadian filmmaker was “totally innocent” and was willing to cooperate with authorities.
“Under Italian Law, I cannot discuss the evidence,” Chaudry said in a statement. “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.”
In a statement obtained by NBC News, prosecutors Antonio Negro and Livia Orlando said the alleged victim had been “accompanied by the man” to Brindisi airport Sunday and was left there at dawn, “despite (her) precarious physical and psychological conditions.”
The prosecutors said airport workers and police had noticed the woman was in a state of confusion and took her to Brindisi’s police headquarters.
They said the woman went to receive medical care following the incident, with officers accompanying her to a local hospital for examination.
The prosecutors said the woman “formalized her complaint and cited circumstances” which investigators subsequently looked into for confirmation.
Haggis is a screenwriter and producer in addition to a director. He won two Oscars in 2006 for the film “Crash.”
He has faced legal trouble before. In 2018, a publicist sued him, alleging he sexually assaulted her after a movie premiere.
He denied the allegation and sued the publicist, accusing her of trying to bankrupt him.
Elizabeth Chuck contributed.
Source: | This article originally belongs to Nbcnews.com
