French Filmmaker Christophe Ruggia Gets Four-Year Sentence, Including Two Years Suspended, in Adele Haenel Sexual Assault Trial

variety.com:

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent French filmmaker Christophe Ruggia, who was accused in 2019 by “Portrait of a Lady on Fire” actor Adele Haenel of having sexually abused her when she was a minor, was found guilty of sexual assault by a Paris court.

He received a four-year sentence, including two years under house arrest and two years suspended. In November 2019, Haenel alleged in an interview with investigative magazine Mediapart that she had been abused by Ruggia during and after the filming of the movie “Les Diables” (“The Devils”) in the early 2000s, when she was between 12 and 15 years old.

She then filed a police complaint against the director. Ruggia repeatedly denied any wrongdoing. In December, the Paris prosecutor requested a five-year sentence, including two years under house arrest with electronic monitoring and three years suspended.

Haenel, who is now 35, was France’s first prominent star to accuse a filmmaker of sexual assault in the country’s #MeToo movement.