We’ve all read about director-screenwriter Paul Haggis (Crash, In The Valley of Elah) having been detained by Italian authorities pending an investigation into sexual assault.
Haggis has a sexual history that I won’t get into, but according to a posting by Variety‘s Naman Ramachandran and K.J. Yossman, the accuser’s story is looking a bit dicey. The initial accusation and house-arrest got the headlines, but this refuting or questioning of the accuser’s account isn’t going to going to attract as much attention.
Haggis’ lawyer Michele Laforgia to The Associated Press: Haggis “remains in Italy while prosecutors decide whether to pursue their investigation into claims that he allegedly had sex with a woman” — British, 28 years old — “without her consent over two days.”
Variety: “The ruling was made by Puglia-based judge Vilma Gilli, who noted an ‘absence of constricting violent behavior’ by Haggis and also a complex story that blurs the original judgment of house arrest.
“The revocation order by the judge for preliminary investigations acknowledges not only the absence of any precautionary needs, but also excludes ‘any violent or otherwise coercive conduct’ by Haggis,” Laforgia told Variety.
Laforgia: “It is an important result, which confirms the version offered from the very first moment by Haggis on the voluntary nature of the relationship he had with the complainant and shows how our procedural system is capable, in a short time, of remedying mistakes and restoring freedom to those who are entitled to it.”