A Director of the French film was found guilty of sexually assaulting actor Adèle Haenel in the early 2000s when he was between 12 and 15, but was not confined, following a #MeToo Trial landmark.
Christophe Ruggia, 60, who refused to abuse Haenel, was given a four-year sentence of two-year suspended and two to be served under home arrest with an electronic bracelet.
Haenel, now 35, was one of the first leading actors to accuse the country’s film industry of becoming a blind eye to sexual abuse.
Haenel, who won two Césars, the French Oscars, accused Ruggia of undergoing her in “permanent sexual harassment” while and after making her 2002 movie The Devils where she played a girl with autism. He said Ruggia repeatedly held her over and over.
Haenel, who was claiming for his performance in the 2019 French film Portrait of a Lady on Fire, said he felt guilty after the devils filming and had suicide thoughts.
Ruggia told the court that she understood that the S’s shoot was “painful” for the actor but was accused of creating a “parallel universe” about the abuse. Other members of the crew working in the film described his behavior with Haenel as “invasive” and “incorrectly released”.
After the judgment on Monday, Ruggia’s lawyer Fanny Collin, said she was appealing against her conviction.
The court also ordered the director to pay Haenel € 15,000 in injuries and € 20,000 for years of psychological therapy that he needed to have a result of abuse.
In 2020, Haenel collapsed at the Césars ceremony in Paris shouting “embarrassing!” After director Roman Polanski-who is still seeking the US for the statutory rape of a 13-year-old girl in 1977-was named the best director for her film an officer and a spy.
In May 2023, Haenel, who won his first César in 2014 for his support of the Suzanne role and a second for Best Actress for Love in the first fight next year, announced that he was finishing his cinema career, accusing the “extensive complex” industry on sexual abuses.
Many female stars of the French cinema are inside the court to hear the verdict, including Judith Godrèche, one of the figureheads of the #MeToo movement of France, and director Céline Sciamma, Haenel’s former partner and the Picture director of a lady on fire. Godrèche hugged Haenel after the verdict.
In a letter published in the Telerama magazine, Haenel wrote: “I decided to politicize my retirement from the cinema to overcome the world like this. ‘
Gérard Depardieu will appear in court on sexual attacks on the next major test at #MeToo in France. The hearing was delayed in October until March’s 24th after the star lawyer said his client was too sick to appear. Depardieu will have a medical examination in early March to determine if he is fit.
The 76-year-old faced accusations from two women of sexual abuse, attacks and harassment allegedly occurring during the 2021 shoot in the film range LES Volets Verts (the green shutter). The actor denied the allegations and claimed that he was targeted by the “wrong accusation”.
About 20 women have accused Depardieu of various sexual offenses, including rape and sexual attacks, which the actor has rejected. In an open letter published in 2023, he said: “Never, I have abused a woman.”
Last year, Godrèche, who accused two high-profile directors of raping him as a teenager, encouraged the cinema industry to deal with sexual abuse. Godrèche said at the Césars ceremony that the movie world had to talk about abuse, powerful men even though it meant that races were dangerous.
“Let’s not include heroes on the screen, just to find ourselves hiding in the woods in real life; let’s not include the revolutionary or humanist heroes, just to wake up in the morning knowing that a director abuses To a young actress and no one said, “he said.
