The sexual assault case against Paul Haggis has been dismissed. Image Source: THR

Paul Haggis is free.

Following a complaint from a lady of foreign descent, Paul Haggis, the Oscar-winning director, was detained in Italy last month on suspicion of sexual assault. According to a statement made to the Italian News Agency, ANSA by Paul Haggis' attorney in Italy, Michele Laforgia, a court in the Italian city of Lecce has found in Paul Haggis' favor and dismissed the case.

The lawyer said that the judge had found no justification for the court to keep looking into claims that the director had intercourse with an anonymous lady without her consent. According to Variety, the decision came in response to a request from the prosecution to extend Paul Haggis' house detention so that an investigation could proceed.

The statement said that the District Court of Lecce, an appellate court with three judges, unanimously rejected a prosecutor's plea to reinstate Paul Haggis' house arrest after studying the material and hearing arguments from both parties.

On June 19th, an Italian prosecutor alleged that the director had forced a young woman who had known him for some time to submit to sexual relations. The prosecutor said at the time that the unnamed woman was left at the airport by Paul Haggis after the ground staff noticed that she might need medical care, and thus, she reported the crime. The director-screenwriter was thus arrested in Puglia.

Paul Haggis was released from custody on July 5 following a court proceeding, according to Judge Vilma Gilli of the Court of Brindisi, who also noted that the methods of a meeting between the suspect and the offended person were spontaneous. She noted that there was no constricting violent behavior from Paul Haggis. The writer-director was also subjected to home detention, according to the judge, but a convoluted plot softens the initial decision indicated in the legislation. The outlet added that Judge Vilma Gilli previously ordered the two-time Academy Award winner to remain in the hotel room pending further review.

The director-screenwriter was arrested in Puglia on June 19th. Image Source: The New York Times 

Several times, Paul Haggis has been charged with sexual misconduct. In 2017, a publicist named Haleigh Breest sued the director in civil court, alleging that Paul Haggis had sexually assaulted her in a New York City apartment during a film premiere in 2013. Haleigh requested $9 million in exchange for a settlement, asserting that the charge is a scheme to obtain money, while Paul insisted that the accusations made against him are untrue. Haleigh Breest's lawyers called the accusations "ludicrous" and dismissed them.

Court documents that E! News at the time obtained show that Paul Haggis insisted his sex with Haleigh Breest was consensual. He also refuted claims that he coerced her into providing him with oral consent against her will. The paper includes Paul Haggis' claims as well as testimonies from several ladies who supported the director and gave him a positive impression in court. Paul Haggis' countersuit was dismissed in 2017, while Haleigh Breest's complaint is still pending.

Three additional women have come forward, though under pseudonyms, with similar claims of sexual assault and harassment against Paul Haggis as a result of the filing and publicity of Haleigh Breest's lawsuit. The women who spoke forward said that although they had interacted with the director between 1996 and 2015, they hadn't filed any formal complaints. Paul Haggis answered every accusation.