Jury finds Paul Haggis guilty in civil rape trial, orders director to pay $7.5 million compensation

Oscar-winning Canadian filmmaker Paul Haggis has lost his civil rape trial against a publicist who accused him of sexual assault following a movie premiere almost a decade ago. A New York jury ruled in favour of the victim on Thursday and found the director guilty of all three counts of rape and sexual abuse. He has been ordered to pay the publicist at least $7.5 million in damages.

The jury consisting of four men and two women deliberated for about six hours before giving a unanimous judgement against Haggis, who wrote and directed the hit film 'Crash', in the civil rape lawsuit following a two-week trial in Manhattan.

In 2017, the 69-year-old was accused by film publicist Haleigh Breest of abusing and raping her in 2013, when she was just 26 years old. She alleged that the director forced him to perform oral sex on him before raping her at his Soho apartment.

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Following the verdict, the plaintiff said that Breest was "very grateful" that she had "the opportunity to seek justice and accountability in courtand that the jury chose to follow the facts"and believedher.

Breest was working as a freelancer at the 2013 event, which Haggis attended as a guest. Though the director doesn’t deny the sexual encounter, he claimsit was consensual.

Haggis does not face any criminal charges in the Breest case.

During the trial, the filmmaker's lawyerPriya Chaudhrysuggested that the lawsuit was guided by the Church of Scientology, which Haggis left and has since criticized. The plaintiff's lawyers, however, vehemently denied the accusation.

Other than the publicist, three more women subsequently accused Haggis of sexual assault as the #MeToo movement gained ground.

More recently in June, Haggis was arrested in southern Italy on suspicion of aggravated sexual assault in a different case. He denied any wrongdoing and was soon released.

For his crime drama film 'Crash', Haggis received an Oscar for best picture and best original screenplay in 2006. He is also known for his work in 'Flags of Our Fathers'and 'Letters from Iwo Jima'.