An investigating judge ordered on Tuesday that French director Christophe Ruggia be tried on December 9 and 10 in Paris for aggravated sexual assault committed on actress Adèle Haenel when she was a minor, we learned on Saturday August 3 from sources close to the case.
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The case, emblematic of the #Metoo movement at the cinema in France, was revealed in 2019 by a long investigation and interview with the actress on the Mediapart website.
Adèle Haenel then repeatedly denounced “ the profession’s general complacency towards sexual aggressors “, including its sensational release at the 2020 César Awards ceremony when Roman Polanski, accused of rape, received the award for best director for I accuse.
Known for her roles in Freely !, 120 beats per minute Or Portrait of a Lady on FireAdèle Haenel is now a theater actress. She made her break with cinema in 2023.
Two aggravating circumstances
In her referral order consulted by AFP, the magistrate highlighted in particular the denunciations ” in a detailed, constant and precise manner ” of the actress, ” his state of shock “at the time of the facts,” psychological repercussions ” assaults, ” the significant age difference between the two protagonists ” And ” the occurrence of progressive psychological constraint ” imposed by the director, the first to have made it turn, in the film Devils (2002).
The investigating judge noted two aggravating circumstances: the actress’s minority at the time of the events and the filmmaker’s position of authority.
” Christophe Ruggia contested all the facts reported by the civil party throughout the proceedings. “, recalls the investigating judge. The director’s lawyers, Ms Fanny Colin and Ms Orly Rezlan, did not wish to comment.
The facts that will be brought up during the trial span from September 2001 to February 2004. Adèle Haenel was then aged 12 to 15. Then aged 36 to 39, Christophe Ruggia had received her every Saturday afternoon for almost three years at his home.
Placed under judicial supervision since 2020
On the other hand, the investigating judge ordered a dismissal of the sexual assaults reported by the actress during festivals in Japan in June 2002 and in Morocco in September 2002. The period from January to the end of August 2001 is also excluded from the proceedings.
In 2019, Adèle Haenel denounced the “control” of the director, little known to the general public, during the preparation and filming of Devils. Then a ” ongoing sexual harassment “, of the ” touching » repeated and « forced kisses on the neck “, which allegedly took place at his home and at several international festivals.
Initially refusing to take legal action, Adèle Haenel finally filed a complaint a few days after the opening of a preliminary investigation by the Paris prosecutor’s office on November 6, 2019. Christophe Ruggia has been charged since January 16, 2020 with ” sexual assault on a minor under 15 by a person having authority over the victim “, and placed under judicial supervision.
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