Paul Haggis trial: Publicist accuses filmmaker of rape, ‘I was like a trapped animal’
Global News
Paul Haggis maintains the 2013 encounter was consensual, and his lawyer has argued that his accuser called it rape because she’s out for money.
He was a famous moviemaker. She was a publicist working a film premiere where he was a VIP guest. He’d offered her a lift home and then invited her to his apartment for a drink.
In his apartment, screenwriter-director Paul Haggis had abruptly tried to kiss her, backed her into his refrigerator, and had a question for her, accuser Haleigh Breest told a jury Thursday.
“Are you scared of me?” he asked, according to her testimony.
And so began, Breest said, a sexual assault that ended with the Oscar winner raping her. She’s suing him in a civil case that’s now on trial.
Haggis maintains the 2013 encounter was consensual, and his lawyer has argued that Breest called it rape because she’s out for money.
In a steady, unsparing tone, Breest recounted what she said was a terrifying, painful attack that left her shocked and “really struggling to comprehend what had happened.”
“I couldn’t understand how somebody who seemed like a nice guy would do that,” she said.
As she spoke without looking at him, Haggis, 69, watched largely expressionlessly, sometimes rubbing his bearded chin or taking notes. He may choose to testify later in the trial.
