Paul Haggis lost his civil rape trial after a New York jury found the Oscar-winning director liable for charges that he sexually assaulted a former film publicist after a movie premiere nearly a decade ago.
lost his civil rape trial after a New York jury found the Oscar-winning director liable on charges that he sexually assaulted a former film publicist after a movie premiere nearly a decade ago. Haggis was found liable on all three counts of rape and sexual abuse.
The decision concludes the three-week trial, which hinged on allegations made by Breest, who sued Haggis in 2017, claiming the filmmaker forced her to perform oral sex on him and then raped her in his Soho apartment. Breest was working as a freelancer at the 2013 event, which Haggis attended as a guest. Though he doesn’t deny the encounter took place, Haggis maintains it was consensual.
“This trial is not about justice for her. This is a blatant cash grab,” she said. “This lawsuit has utterly destroyed [Haggis’ career], but to Haleigh, this case is about money. It’s a payday.” In her hours-long testimony, Breest, who was 26 at the time, says she reluctantly agreed to have a drink at the director’s apartment after he denied her suggestion to go to a public bar. She recalled feeling “absolutely paralyzed and terrified” as the then 59-year-old Haggis kissed her against her will and took her into a bedroom, where the alleged sexual assault transpired.
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