Eve Esin

French film director Ruggia convicted of sexual abuse of Adèle Haenel

A French court has convicted French film director Christophe Ruggia of sexually abusing actress Adèle Haenel when she was underage. He will avoid prison as the court sentenced him to a two-year suspended term and two years under house arrest.Ruggia was also ordered to pay €15,000 to Haenel. In one of France's first big MeToo cases, Haenel accused Ruggia of repeatedly touching her inappropriately when she was between 12 and 15-years-old, after they met while working on the movie "The Devils" in 2001 Ruggia's lawyer, Fanny Colin, told reporters that her client maintained his innocence and would appeal the decision – the director has denied any wrongdoing since Haenel's first public accusations in 2019.