French actress Adèle Haenel faces director Ruggia in sexual assault trial

Adèle Haenel, a French actor who accused a filmmaker of sexually assaulting her when she was a baby, shouted at him to “shut up” earlier than storming out in the course of the trial.

Christophe Ruggia, 59, then got here to his protection, claiming that he had merely tried to “shield” Haenel at the beginning of his fame.

A French prosecutor has requested two years of home arrest for Ruggia, 59, who Haenel says molested her within the early 2000s when she was between 12 and 15 and he was in his late 30s .

Ruggia stated the sexual assault accusations had been “pure lies.”

He additionally accused Haenel of wanting revenge on him for not hiring her for different roles after she starred in his 2002 movie. The Devils (The Devils).

Haenel stated she was managed and manipulated by Ruggia as a baby and that nobody protected her when she was “requested to do issues within the title of artwork.”

She alleges that Ruggia started molesting her throughout filming, when she was 12 years previous.

Haenel, who starred within the acclaimed 2019 movie Portrait of a Woman on Fireplace, publicly left the French movie trade final 12 months because of what she referred to as “normal complacency” towards sexual predators.

In 2019, she gave a prolonged and emotional interview to French media outlet Mediapart by which she detailed what she referred to as the “sexual harassment” she suffered by the hands of Ruggia.

She stated she determined to talk out about his alleged abuse after watching the documentary Leaving Neverland, which explored singer Michael Jackson’s relationships with youngsters.

“It made me notice that I had held on to Ruggia’s model for too lengthy, that it was all only a love story,” she stated, including that it made her notice the mechanisms of “management and fascination”.

Haenel stated that on set, Ruggia consistently touched her, kissed her on the cheek, put his fingers on her hips and referred to as her “my darling” and “my darling”, and that he progressively remoted her from his household, telling his mother and father to not do it. come to the movie set to keep away from distracting her.

Different actors and technicians current on the set advised Mediapart of the unhealthy ambiance.

A abstract of the accusations cited by French media signifies that Ruggia and Haenel continued to see one another each Saturday after the tip of filming of Les Diables, “below the guise of movie classes” throughout which Ruggia allegedly touched her sexually and allegedly put your fingers. his underwear.

Investigators stated they discovered notes on Ruggia’s laptop by which he spoke of 12-year-old Haenel’s “extreme sensuality.”

When she lastly broke ties with him, he continued to put in writing her quite a few letters, in keeping with the indictment. She then fell right into a deep melancholy that lasted till she was 28, she stated.

“Once I was below his management, I felt soiled and I needed to die,” Haenel advised investigators.

Ruggia admitted to having made “errors” in his habits in the direction of Haenel.

“I didn’t see that my adulation for her and the hopes I positioned in her may typically – given her younger age – appear boring. If that’s what occurred… I apologize to her,” he stated. he stated in a press release in 2019.

Throughout the trial, prosecutor Camille Poch stated she had “little question” concerning the veracity of the allegations and stated Ruggia’s protection was “unlikely.” “He made the selection to sexually assault her. He had all his grownup conscience to resolve to behave in any other case.”

Haenel was the primary high-profile French actor to accuse the French movie trade of turning a blind eye to sexual assault.

Since then, actor Gérard Depardieu accused of rape and is because of be tried subsequent 12 months. Administrators Benoît Jacquot and Jacques Doillon had been additionally accused of rape and sexual offenses of the actress Judith Godrèche.

Haenel’s attorneys requested €30,000 (£24,800) in compensation for ethical harm and €31,000 to cowl the prices of his psychologists.

The decision is anticipated on February 3.