Crash filmmaker Paul Haggis found liable for raping woman, ordered to pay $7.5M in civil suit
ANGELA WEISS/AFP/Getty Paul Haggis arriving at court in New York
Oscar-winning screenwriter and director Paul Haggis has been found liable for raping a former film publicist in his New York apartment in 2013.
On Thursday, a six-person jury ordered the Crash filmmaker to pay $7.5 million in compensatory damages to the plaintiff, Haleigh Breest, following a two-week civil trial in Manhattan Supreme Court, according to the New York Times. The jurors will return to court Monday to determine punitive damages.
Priya Chaudhry, an attorney for Haggis, said in a statement provided to EW, "We are disappointed and shocked by this verdict." She added that the trial amounted to "a shameful exploitation of the #MeToo movement where political sentiment trumps facts."
Breest, who sued Haggis in December 2017, testified that he offered her a ride home from a premiere party in January 2013 and then invited her over to his apartment for a drink. At the apartment, Breest said, Haggis forced her to perform oral sex and then raped her. "I was like a trapped animal," she said, per the Times. "There was nothing for me to do."
Haggis denied Breest's allegations and maintained that the encounter was consensual. He testified that she repeatedly said "No" to him after he kissed her at his apartment but described her demeanor as "teasing" and "a little like Betty Boop." Haggis said, "She never gave me any indication that it was anything other than consensual."
Four other women have accused Haggis of sexual misconduct and assault. Three of the women, who came forward after Breest filed her civil lawsuit in 2017, accused the filmmaker of assault between 1996 and 2015, while the fourth woman accused Haggis of assault this past June, when he was in Italy for a film festival. He was detained for two weeks before an Italian judge released him. Haggis has denied all the allegations against him.
According to the Times, Breest said in a statement after the verdict Thursday, "I am grateful that I had the opportunity to seek justice and accountability in court — and that the jury chose to follow the facts — and believed me."
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