One of the Sex Assault Cases Against Paul Haggis Dropped

An Italian court has dropped the sexual assault case against Oscar-winning filmmaker and famous ex-Scientologist Paul Haggis. A judge on Friday ruled there were no grounds to continue the investigation, the Guardian reports, and Haggis' Italian lawyer says that "after viewing the evidence and hearing arguments from both sides, the district court of Lecce, an appellate court with three judges, unanimously rejected a prosecutor’s appeal to have Haggis’s house arrest reinstated." Haggis spent 16 days under house arrest and was released July 5.

The case involved a 28-year-old British woman who accused Haggis of forcing her to have nonconsensual sex over a two-day period in June; Haggis was released from house arrest "immediately" after a judge questioned her, Haggis' lawyer says, per Variety. Prosecutors appealed that decision, but the court ruled in Haggis' favor Friday. Prosecutors must close the case unless new evidence surfaces, and it is expected to be closed within the coming weeks. Haggis still faces a civil case in the US; a film publicist alleges he raped her in 2013. Haggis says the sex was consensual. A trial date is tentatively set for October 11 in Manhattan. Three other female accusers came forward after she filed her suit in 2017. (More Paul Haggis stories.)