French actress Adèle Haenel faces director Ruggia in sexual assault trial

Adèle Haenel, a French actress who accused a filmmaker of sexually assaulting her when she was a child, yelled at him to “shut up” before storming out in the middle of the trial.

Christophe Ruggia, 59, spoke in his defense at the time, arguing that he had simply tried to “protect” Haenel during the early days of her fame.

A French prosecutor requested two years of house arrest for Ruggia, 59, who Haenel said assaulted her in the early 2000s, when she was 12 to 15 years old and he was in his 30s.

Ruggia has said the sexual abuse allegations are “complete lies.”

He also accused Haenel of wanting to get back at him for not hiring her for more roles after she starred in his 2002 film. the demons (The Devils).

Haenel has said that Ruggia controlled and manipulated her as a child and that no one protected her when she was “asked to do things in the name of art.”

She alleges that Ruggia began abusing her during filming, when she was 12 years old.

Haenel, who starred in the acclaimed 2019 film Portrait of a Lady on Fire, publicly left the French film industry last year due to what she said was her “general complacency” toward sexual predators.

In 2019, she gave a long and emotional interview to French outlet Mediapart in which she detailed what she called the “sexual harassment” she suffered at the hands of Ruggia.

She said she had decided to speak out about her alleged abuse after watching the documentary Leaving Neverland, which explored singer Michael Jackson’s relationships with children.

“It made me see that I had clung for too long to Ruggia’s version, that everything had been a love story,” he said, adding that it made him understand the mechanisms of “control and fascination.”

Haenel said that on set Ruggia constantly touched her, kissed her on the cheek, put his hands on her hips and called her “my love” and “darling,” and that he progressively isolated her from her family, telling her parents that they didn’t do it. come to the filming set so as not to distract her.

Other actors and technicians present on the set told Mediapart about the unhealthy environment.

A summary of the charges cited by French media says Ruggia and Haenel continued to see each other every Saturday after filming Les Diables wrapped, “under the pretext of film lessons” during which Ruggia allegedly touched her sexually and put his fingers in her. hands. his underwear.

Investigators said they had found notes on Ruggia’s computer in which he wrote about the “overflowing sensuality” of 12-year-old Haenel.

When she finally broke off her relationship with him, he continued to write her numerous letters, according to the charge sheet. He later sank into a deep depression that lasted until he was 28, he said.

“When I was under his control I felt dirty and wanted to die,” Haenel told investigators.

Ruggia has admitted to making “mistakes” in his conduct toward Haenel.

“I did not see that my adulation for her and the hopes I placed in her could – given her young age – sometimes seem irritating. If this is what happened… I ask your forgiveness,” he said in a statement in 2019.

At the trial, prosecutor Camille Poch said she had “no doubt” that the allegations were true and that Ruggia’s defense was “unlikely.” “He made the decision to sexually assault her. He had all his conscience as an adult man to decide to act differently.”

Haenel was the first prominent French actor to accuse the French film industry of turning a blind eye to sexual assault.

Since then, actor Gérard Depardieu has been accused of rape and is due to be tried next year. Film directors Benoît Jacquot and Jacques Doillon have also been accused of rape and sexual crimes by the actress Judith Godrèche.

Haenel’s lawyers have requested €30,000 (£24,800) in compensation for non-material damage and €31,000 to cover the cost of his psychologists’ fees.

A verdict is expected on February 3.