Paris prosecutors have requested a five-year prison sentence for filmmaker Christophe Ruggia over sexual assault charges involving actor Adele Haenel when she was a minor, Le Monde reports. Haenel is the star of the Cannes prize-winning film “Portrait of a Lady on Fire” and “BPM.”
The sentence, requested on Tuesday, includes two years under house arrest with electronic monitoring and three years suspended. Prosecutor Camille Poch said during the hearing that it must “remind us of the forbidden, who was the adult, who was the child, it must set the world straight.”
The case stems from incidents that allegedly occurred when Haenel was between 12 and 14 years old, following her role in Ruggia’s 2001 film “Les Diables” (“The Devils”). The prosecution outlined a pattern of “progressive hold” over Haenel, which included approximately 100 Saturday afternoons spent at Ruggia’s residence until February 2004.
Defense attorney Orly Rezlan pointed to a 2014 letter from Haenel to Ruggia, noting that it “does not describe any gesture that would have a sexual ambiguity.” The defense also highlighted that specific allegations about inappropriate touching weren’t made until late November 2019 during the investigation.
The verdict is scheduled for Feb. 3.
Haenel, a two-time César Award winner, initially brought the allegations to light in a November 2019 investigation by French investigative website Mediapart. Haenel alleged that Ruggia repeatedly made advances toward her, including unwanted touching and kisses, until she was 15. Haenel said she told people several years ago about the incidents, well before the rise of the #MeToo movement, but felt moved to speak out publicly now because of the documentary on Michael Jackson, “Leaving Neverland,” and news that Ruggia was prepping a new film with two protagonists with the same names as her and her co-star’s characters in “The Devils.”
Ruggia, who was 36 at the time of filming “Les Diables,” has contested the charges, describing the Mediapart article as “a Stalinist trial that destroyed my life.” Less than a day after being accused, Ruggia was expelled from the French directors’ guild. He was indicted in 2020.
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