Christophe Ruggia to be tried in December

A complaint filed and a silence broken. Director Christophe Ruggia will be tried on December 9 and 10 before the Paris Criminal Court for sexual assaults committed on actress Adèle Haenel. The assaults allegedly took place between 2001 and 2004 while she was filming her first film at the age of 12.

The filmmaker, now 59, initially denied any assault, but acknowledged that he had made the mistake of playing the Pygmalion. He asked the actress for forgiveness before counter-attacking, claiming that she was getting revenge because he had refused her a role in a film. Adèle Haenel, who won two Césars, announced her break with the cinema in May. Christophe Ruggia faces a ten-year prison sentence and a €150,000 fine.
The investigating judge noted two aggravating circumstances: the actress’s minority at the time of the events and the filmmaker’s position of authority.