Oscar-winning director Paul Haggis Arrested in Italy on Sexual Assault Charges

OSCAR-WINNING director Paul Haggis has been arrested on suspicion of sexually assaulting a woman during a trip to Italy.

The Canadian director is “seriously suspected of the charges of aggravated sexual assault and aggravated physical injury,” according to prosecutors in Brindisi.

Haggis, who is 69 years old, is most known for writing and producing the film Crash, which was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Picture.

In addition, he was the writer of the script for the James Bond movie Quantum of Solace.

The accused victim, who is not Italian, is said to have been “forced to undergo sexual intercourse” over the course of two days, as reported by the news agency LaPresse.

After the event, it’s said that she went to get medical treatment for herself.

Prosecutors Antonio Negro and Livia Orlando, who are in charge of the inquiry, revealed in a statement that was put in writing that the woman was taken to the airport in Brindisi and then abandoned there.

According to the allegations, she was transferred to a nearby hospital after airport workers and police reportedly observed her in a “confused state.”

In preparation for a film festival that will take place in Ostuni, a popular tourist destination in Puglia, Haggis has been in Italy.

A journalist based in Los Angeles named Silvia Bisio, who was scheduled to moderate a panel with Haggis, confirmed to Variety that he had been arrested.

She stated that the festival is “totally taking its distance” from Haggis and that a statement to that effect will be issued in the near future.

The director is a father of four with two previous divorces under his belt.

In 2016, he ended his marriage to his second wife, Deborah Rennard.

Haggis was an active member of the Church of Scientology for more than three decades until 2009, when he decided to leave the organization.

After some time had passed, he was quoted in the newspaper The New Yorker as saying, “I was a member of a cult for 34 years.”

A request for comment was made to his attorney, but he did not react right away.