Canadian director Paul Haggis, 69, was arrested today in Ostuni (Brindisi) on charges of sexual violence and aggravated personal injury.
Paul Haggis “temporarily residing in Ostuni (Brindisi)” has “been subjected to suspicion and the application of the precautionary measure was requested for him” because he was ” seriously suspected of crimes of aggravated sexual violence and aggravated personal injuries, crimes committed to the detriment of a young foreign woman,” states the note released by the Public Prosecutor of Brindisi. The director “according to the elements gathered,” would have “forced the young woman, whom he met some time ago, to undergo sexual intercourse,” said the note. He participated in the ‘Then Fest’ event in Ostuni.
The investigators said the woman was then accompanied by the director to the Papola Casale airport in Brindisi and left there at the first light of dawn, despite her precarious physical and psychological conditions.
At the airport, the alleged victim of the violence was assisted by the staff of Aeroporti di Puglia and the border police, who, after having given her first aid, accompanied her to the offices of the mobile squad.
The agents then took the woman to the Perrino hospital in Brindisi, where the “pink protocol” for victims of violence was activated.
Subsequently, the alleged victim formalized the complaint.