Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on May 7, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 24, 2026
Add as preferred source on GooglePaul Haggis, Oscar-winning director, was cleared of rape charges in Italy. The court found no non-consensual act occurred, ending a challenging period for Haggis.
MILAN (Reuters) -An Italian judge has dismissed a case against Oscar-winning screenwriter and director Paul Haggis for alleged rape, his lawyers said on Wednesday.
Haggis, 72, was detained in June 2022 and spent 14 days under house arrest after a British woman accused him of raping her over a two-day period in the southern Italian town of Ostuni in the Puglia region, where he was teaching at a film event.
The court judge in the nearby city of Brindisi ruled no sexual act took place without consent, Haggis' lawyers said.
"For Mr Haggis, it is the end of a nightmare that has unfairly shattered the career of a film genius and 2006 Oscar winner," lawyers Michele Laforgia and Daniele Romeo said in a statement.
Haggis co-wrote and directed "Crash", a 2004 crime drama for which he won two Oscars, and also wrote "Million Dollar Baby", a sports drama directed by and starring Clint Eastwood, which was released the same year.
Haggis' lawyers said he would hold a press conference on Thursday at their law firm's offices in Bari, Puglia's regional capital.
The lawyer of the woman who filed the complaint against the screenwriter was not immediately available to comment.
In November 2022, a New York jury ordered Haggis to pay $10 million in damages for raping a publicist in his apartment nine years earlier.
(Reporting by Emilio Parodi, editing by Gavin Jones and Ewan Harwood)
The main topic is the Italian court clearing Paul Haggis of rape charges.
Paul Haggis is an Oscar-winning screenwriter and director known for films like 'Crash' and 'Million Dollar Baby'.
The alleged incident occurred in Ostuni, a town in the Puglia region of Italy.
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