Director Paul Haggis Found Liable in N.Y. Rape Case, Jury Awards $7.5 Million in Damages

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Paul Haggis, the Oscar-winning writer/director of 2004's Crash, has been found liable of raping a publicist at his apartment back in 2013.

A New York jury made up of four men and two women reached the verdict Thursday, according to Variety and The New York Times, finding Haggis, 69, liable on all counts of rape and sexual abuse in the civil case. Haleigh Breest, the now-36-year-old plaintiff, was awarded at least $7.5 million for compensation.

"We are grateful and thankful. Justice was done today," her attorney Ilann M. Maazel said in a statement to PEOPLE. "We are so proud of Haleigh. This is a great victory for her and for the entire #MeToo movement."

"We are disappointed and shocked by this verdict," Haggis's attorney Priya Chaudhry said in a statement to PEOPLE, adding that "we were not allowed to tell the jury so many critical things" and that "this lawsuit has financially ruined" Haggis. Chaudhry also said Haggis did not receive a fair trial: "This is a shameful exploitation of the #MeToo movement where political sentiment trumps facts."

Breest sued Haggis in 2017, alleging that, after a Side Effects movie premiere in January 2013, she accepted Haggis's offer to give her a ride home, but instead he brought her back to his Manhattan apartment where he became "sexually aggressive." Breest, then 26 years old, claimed he forced her to perform oral sex on him before raping her.

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Daniele Venturelli/Getty Paul Haggis

When Haggis took the stand in the three-week trial, he told the courtroom, according to Deadline, Breest "never gave me any indication it was anything other than consensual." He testified, "I know I liked her. She liked me. We seemed to talk a lot. I was flirting, She seemed to be flirting, and there seemed to be a mutual attraction."

Haggis's attorney Chaudhry said in Wednesday's closing arguments, per Variety, that the trial "is not about justice for" Breest, rather a "blatant cash grab." Chaudhry said, "This lawsuit has utterly destroyed [Haggis' career], but to Haleigh, this case is about money. It's a payday."

During her testimony, Breest, according to the Associated Press, recounted the assault saying she felt "like a trapped animal; there was nothing for me to do." She recalled telling a few friends but she did not report it to the police at the time. The AP reported that Breest also testified that she worked with Haggis like normal afterward because "I didn't want my work experience to be awkward. ... I pretended like everything was normal. And it wasn't."

Haggis, an outspoken former member of the Church of Scientology, is also known for writing Million Dollar Baby and Casino Royale.

If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, please contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673) or go to rainn.org.