director Christophe Ruggia tried for sexual assault on actress Adèle Haenel, then a minor

Director Christophe Ruggia appears Monday December 9 and Tuesday December 10 before the Paris criminal court for sexual assault on a minor for which actress Adèle Haenel accuses him, when she was between 12 and 14 years old.

It's an expected trial: the first big #MeToo case in French cinema will be judged on Monday December 9 and Tuesday December 10 before the Paris Criminal Court. Director Christophe Ruggia is accused by Adèle Haenel of having sexually assaulted her when she was between 12 and 14 years old.

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In 2001, the budding actress, aged 12, played one of the main roles in the film “the Devils”an incestuous love story between two young orphans, Joseph and his autistic sister, Chloé. After filming, and for three years, little Adèle went on Saturday afternoons to the Parisian home of the filmmaker, then 36 years old. To talk about cinema, watch DVDs… In November 2019, Adèle Haenel, in an interview with Mediapart, denounced the“control” that the director then exerted on her, who allegedly made her undergo a “permanent sexual harassment”of the “touching” repeated on the ” thighs “ et “the torso”of the “forced kisses on the neck”.

Witnesses speaking of their discomfort

Christophe Ruggia immediately refutes these accusations. A few days later, a preliminary investigation was opened by the Paris prosecutor's office. Then Adèle Haenel, who initially refused, decided to file a complaint. According to Agence France-Presse and Mediapart, which had access to the referral order, the filmmaker continued, during his hearings by the police and the investigating judge, to refute the attacks. He speaks of friendship, of admiration, admits to having been “captivated” by the little girl, even evokes her “sensuality”but denies having it “sexualized”. Several professionals, for their part, explained to investigators their « malaise » faced with the director's behavior on set. “Invasive”, “displaced”, “his hand on the thigh” of the young actress, “things in the neck”elle “sitting on his knees”…

Contacted by “le Nouvel Obs”, M^e Fanny Colin, Christophe Ruggia's lawyer, did not wish to make a statement before the trial. M^e Anouck Michelin, who represents Adèle Haenel, confirms to us that the actress will be present at the hearing. The lawyer describes her as “anxious, of course, but determined” :

“She did not come all this way not to be there, for this moment which will be a form of liberation. She has always been very honest, sincere, cautious in her accusations. Faced with her, we have only the absence of an explanation for what this 36 year old adult could have done for three years, on Saturday afternoon, with a little girl of 12 years old. ».

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Several people will be called to testify during the trial, both by the defense and by the civil party. Among them, the director's ex-partner and his own sister, who had an active role on the set. Surprisingly, the filmmaker's lawyer also called Mediapart journalist Marine Turchi as a witness, who explained to us on the telephone that she would not go ” obviously “ not at the bar:

“Neither the police, nor the investigating judge, nor the lawyers asked to hear from me during the five years of this procedure. I am not a witness to facts or morality. Everything we had to say has already been said in the 2019 article.”

Christophe Ruggia will be tried for sexual assault on a minor, with the aggravating circumstance of having been a person with authority over her. He faces ten years in prison.