According to a statement from the prosecutor’s office in the nearby town of Brindisi, who ordered the arrest, the accuser was not Italian. The statement identifies the man arrested as PH, Canada. Vincenzo Leo, a local Italian police officer, confirmed that it was Mr Haggis. The statement said that after two days of “non-consensual contact”, he had brought the woman to Papola Casale airport in Brindisi on Friday and left her there at the first light of dawn, despite the precarious physical and psychological conditions of the woman. ” Airport staff and border police spotted her at the airport in “confusion”, assisted her and took her to the local police station, the statement continued. She was then taken to a hospital where she was treated according to a protocol used in Italy for victims of violence against women. he then reported the violence to police. According to the accusations, Mr. Haggis, 69, “would force the young woman, whom he had met a while ago, to endure sexual intercourse”. “I am confident that all charges against Mr Haggis will be dropped,” said Priya Chaudhry, Mr Haggis’s lawyer, in an email. “He is completely innocent and willing to cooperate fully with the authorities so that the truth can come out quickly.” Mr. Haggis, who won a 2006 Academy Award for screenplay for the crime drama “Crash” and wrote acclaimed films such as “Million Dollar Baby,” was in the southern city to attend the Allora Film Festival, where he was due to attend. in panels and discussions with the public, starting on June 21, according to the festival program. Mr. Haggis was sued for sexual assault in New York in 2017 by a journalist, Halley Brest. Ms Brest accused Mr Haggis of forcing her to have oral sex with him before raping her after a premiere in 2013. Mr Haggis said the meeting with Ms Brest was consensual. Following the lawsuit, which is still pending due to delays related to the coronavirus pandemic, three other women accused Mr Haggis of sexually assaulting them, according to the Associated Press. Mr Haggis’s lawyer, Christine Lepera, denied the other three allegations, saying she “did not rape anyone”, according to an AP report. Mr. Haggis began his television career as a screenwriter in the 1980s and has continued to produce a number of series, including “Walker, Texas Ranger,” a feature-length drama starring Chuck Norris. But he is perhaps best known for his film work, most notably “Crash,” the 2005 full-length drama he directed and wrote. The film won Best Picture at the Oscars as well as Best Original Screenplay for Mr. Haggis and Bobby Moresco. In 2009, Mr. Haggis left the Church of Scientology because of its support for Proposition 8, a ban on same-sex marriage passed by voters in California and later overturned. In a letter of resignation issued in Hollywood, Mr. Haggis wrote that the position of the church was “a stain on the integrity of our organization and a stain on us personally.” In the documentary “Going Clear” and elsewhere, Mr. Haggis has become one of the most prominent critics of the church. And he said that, in response, the church has organized a campaign of harassment. In a court case last year, Mr. Haggis argued that a pending sexual assault lawsuit in New York had virtually frozen his career, leaving him unable to work as a director or producer. “I have had discussions with producers and financiers, but they have repeatedly told me that they can not work with me until I clear my name,” he wrote in the statement, which was submitted as part of a motion asking the court to set a trial date. . Stephanie Goodman contributed to the report.
