A judge in southern Italy on Monday ordered movie director Paul Haggis released from detention at his hotel while prosecutors decide whether to pursue their investigation of whether he allegedly had sex with a woman without her consent over two days, his lawyer said.
Michele Laforgia said that his client, who is also a screenwriter and an Academy Award winner, was still in Italy.
The ruling was made by Judge Vilma Gilli, based in the southern Puglia region.
Photo: Reuters
Canada-born Haggis, 69, was detained by police on June 19 in Puglia after a woman told the authorities that he had non-consensual sex with her over two days while he was in Italy to participate in an arts festival in Ostuni.
He had proclaimed his innocence.
Laforgia said in text messages that the judge had ruled there were neither signs of violence nor abuse found on the woman, who prosecutors have described as young and foreign.
Italian media have reported that she is a 28-year-old Englishwoman.
The courthouse was closed on Monday evening and Gilli could not immediately be reached for comment.
Corriere della Sera, quoting from the judge’s ruling, said she concluded that there was an “absence of constrictive violent behavior” by Haggis.
The judge also said in the ruling that the woman’s decision to be with Haggis in his lodgings was “spontaneous,” the Italian daily said.
It was Gilli who on June 22, after a closed-door hearing, had ordered Haggis to remain in detention while the investigation continued.
Prosecutors did not immediately say if they would move to drop the investigation or pursue it after the judge’s ruling.
Asked if the case might be closed, Laforgia replied: “Let’s see what the prosecutor’s office will do at this point.”
Haggis, who resides in the US, has had other legal problems. Four women in the US have alleged sexual misconduct by him.
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