 |
| Photo Credit: AP. |
A woman accusing filmmaker Paul Haggis of rape, Haleigh Breest Thursday appeared in court to testify against the famous screen writer director. Breest narrated how Haggis offered her a lift home and then invited her to his apartment for a drink, noting that she was a publicist working on a film premiere where Haggis was a VIP guest.
Once inside
the apartment, Haggis abruptly tried to kiss her, backed her into his
refrigerator, and asked her a question, Breest testified before a jury, The
Associated Press reported.
“Are you scared of me?” he asked, Breest said.
Breest
alleged that Haggis then sexually assaulted and raped her.
All these
happened in 2013 but the Oscar winner said the encounter was consensual. His
lawyer said Breest called it rape because she wants some money from Haggis.
She is
filing a civil suit and is seeking an unspecified amount of money.
Breest
described the encounter as a terrifying, paining attack that left her shocked
and “really struggling to comprehend what had happened,” according to The
Associated Press.
“I couldn’t
understand how somebody who seemed like a nice guy would do that,” she said.
36-year-old
Breest said she met the 69-year-old filmmaker in 2012 at a premiere afterparty
where she worked at the time.
She admitted
they occasionally exchanged professional emails and party chat before their
second encounter at another premiere party she worked on January 31, 2013.
Breest said
she accepted Haggis’ ride home and invitation for a drink, saying she was tipsy
at the time.
“But just so
you know, I’m not sleeping in SoHo tonight,” she recalled telling the filmmaker.
She said
Haggis’ made advances towards her immediately she put her bags down in his
kitchen.
“You’ve been
flirting with me for months,” she said he told her.
“I don’t
even know you,” she said she replied.
Breest
narrated how he showed her round the apartment but “became aggressive very
quickly,” when they reached a guest bedroom and then pushed her onto the bed
and quickly pulled off her tights and clothes. She said she struggled to hold
onto her clothes and told him to stop.
She alleged
he forced her to perform oral sex and wanted intercourse but she suggested she
wanted to take a shower as a way of getting out of the room but he followed her
there and steered her back to the guest bedroom and made series of unwanted
sexual gestures and modes and finally raped her.
“I was like
a trapped animal. There was nothing for me to do,” she said.
Breest said
she passed out soon after the encounter and left the next morning without
seeing Haggis again.
She admitted
telling a number of her friends and later told her boss the following year but
did not inform police and did not confront Haggis when he emailed her the day
after the encounter to ask for photos from the premiere,
“I didn’t
want my work experience to be awkward,” she testified, so “I pretended like
everything was normal. And it wasn’t.”