More than three years after the indictment of Christophe Ruggia, the director is confronted with Adèle Haenel. The confrontation began Thursday, before a Parisian investigating judge, between the artist and the filmmaker, whom the former actress accuses of sexual assault when she was a young teenager, sources familiar with the matter told AFP.
Christophe Ruggia, now 58, was indicted on January 16, 2020 for “sexual assault on a 15-year-old minor by a person having authority over the victim”, Adèle Haenel being aged 12 to 15 at the time of the alleged facts. He was placed under judicial supervision. He disputes the charges. Lawyers for both parties declined to comment before the confrontation.
Complaint in 2019
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. This investigation was then entrusted to an investigating judge. Since then, the actress has repeatedly denounced what she will define as “the general complacency of the profession vis-à-vis sexual aggressors” in the 7th art.
The actress notably made a sensational exit during the César ceremony in 2020 to oppose the coronation of Roman Polanski (awarded the César for best director for his film I accuse), while he was overtaken by old accusations of rape. Last May, she recorded her break with the cinema in a letter to Telerama.