“Paul Haggis answered all questions and explained what happened,” Laforgia told reporters outside the courthouse. “He declared himself, as he had already done right after the detention, completely innocent, in the sense that the relations he had with this woman were totally consensual."
While the woman's allegations are investigated, the 69-year-old Canadian-born director, producer and screenwriter was initially ordered on Sunday to stay detained in his guest residence in a farmhouse in Ostuni, a popular tourist town in Puglia, the region forming the “heel” of the Italian peninsula.
Prosecutors have said he is under investigation for alleged aggravated sexual violence and aggravated personal injuries.
Prosecutors have described the woman as young and foreign. State TV and other Italian media said she is a 30-year-old Englishwoman who had known Haggis before he came to Ostuni.
Asked by a reporter what kind of relationship Haggis and the woman had, Laforgia replied that it had been a “relationship of acquaintance.”
The lawyer said the defense disputes a hospital report indicating that the woman had suffered physical injuries.
“There is no sign of injury nor sign of violence,″ Laforgia asserted, adding, “I believe that they (the investigators) badly interpreted the findings of the emergency room” of a Brindisi hospital, where the woman was taken after she told authorities that she had been sexually abused.
Haggis co-wrote, directed and produced “Crash,” which won the 2006 Academy Awards for best picture and best screenplay. He also wrote the screenplay for “Million Dollar Baby," another Oscar winner.
He has had legal problems in recent years stemming from sexual misconduct accusations by four women in the United States.
The lawyer also said that Haggis had told the judge that if his detention were revoked he intended to stay in Italy in any case so he could fully clear his name.
Haggis “has every interest to be present” for courtroom proceedings and “to stay in Italy until his total innocence is definitively ascertained, because, naturally, his life here and in the United States where he resides depends on that,” Laforgia said.
Because Haggis doesn’t speak Italian, he submitted written statements in English to the court throughout the hearing. Translations back-and-forth lengthened the duration of the hearing, Laforgia said.
Canadian-born film director Paul Haggis arrives at Brindisi law court in southern Italy, Wednesday, June 22, 2022, to be heard by prosecutors investigating a woman's allegations he had sex with her without her consent over the course of two days. Under Italian law, a judge, after hearing arguments from both prosecutors and defense lawyers, will rule on whether Haggis can be set free pending possible additional investigation. (AP Photo/Salvatore Laporta)
Credit: Salvatore Laporta
Credit: Salvatore Laporta
Canadian-born film director Paul Haggis arrives at Brindisi law court in southern Italy, Wednesday, June 22, 2022, to be heard by prosecutors investigating a woman's allegations he had sex with her without her consent over the course of two days. Under Italian law, a judge, after hearing arguments from both prosecutors and defense lawyers, will rule on whether Haggis can be set free pending possible additional investigation. (AP Photo/Salvatore Laporta)
Credit: Salvatore Laporta
Credit: Salvatore Laporta
Canadian-born film director Paul Haggis arrives at Brindisi law court in southern Italy, Wednesday, June 22, 2022, to be heard by prosecutors investigating a woman's allegations he had sex with her without her consent over the course of two days. Under Italian law, a judge, after hearing arguments from both prosecutors and defense lawyers, will rule on whether Haggis can be set free pending possible additional investigation. (AP Photo/Salvatore Laporta)
Credit: Salvatore Laporta
Credit: Salvatore Laporta
Canadian-born film director Paul Haggis arrives at Brindisi law court in southern Italy, Wednesday, June 22, 2022, to be heard by prosecutors investigating a woman's allegations he had sex with her without her consent over the course of two days. Under Italian law, a judge, after hearing arguments from both prosecutors and defense lawyers, will rule on whether Haggis can be set free pending possible additional investigation. (AP Photo/Salvatore Laporta)
Credit: Salvatore Laporta
Credit: Salvatore Laporta
Canadian-born film director Paul Haggis, right, arrives with his lawyer Michele Laforgia at Brindisi law court in southern Italy, Wednesday, June 22, 2022, to be heard by prosecutors investigating a woman's allegations he had sex with her without her consent over the course of two days. Under Italian law, a judge, after hearing arguments from both prosecutors and defense lawyers, will rule on whether Haggis can be set free pending possible additional investigation. (AP Photo/Salvatore Laporta)
Credit: Salvatore Laporta
Credit: Salvatore Laporta
Canadian-born film director Paul Haggis, right, arrives with his lawyer Michele Laforgia at Brindisi law court in southern Italy, Wednesday, June 22, 2022, to be heard by prosecutors investigating a woman's allegations he had sex with her without her consent over the course of two days. Under Italian law, a judge, after hearing arguments from both prosecutors and defense lawyers, will rule on whether Haggis can be set free pending possible additional investigation. (AP Photo/Salvatore Laporta)
Credit: Salvatore Laporta
Credit: Salvatore Laporta
Canadian-born film director Paul Haggis arrives at Brindisi law court in southern Italy, Wednesday, June 22, 2022, to be heard by prosecutors investigating a woman's allegations he had sex with her without her consent over the course of two days. Under Italian law, a judge, after hearing arguments from both prosecutors and defense lawyers, will rule on whether Haggis can be set free pending possible additional investigation. (AP Photo/Salvatore Laporta)
Credit: Salvatore Laporta
Credit: Salvatore Laporta
Canadian-born film director Paul Haggis arrives at Brindisi law court in southern Italy, Wednesday, June 22, 2022, to be heard by prosecutors investigating a woman's allegations he had sex with her without her consent over the course of two days. Under Italian law, a judge, after hearing arguments from both prosecutors and defense lawyers, will rule on whether Haggis can be set free pending possible additional investigation. (AP Photo/Salvatore Laporta)
Credit: Salvatore Laporta
Credit: Salvatore Laporta
Canadian-born film director Paul Haggis arrives at Brindisi law court in southern Italy, Wednesday, June 22, 2022, to be heard by prosecutors investigating a woman's allegations he had sex with her without her consent over the course of two days. Under Italian law, a judge, after hearing arguments from both prosecutors and defense lawyers, will rule on whether Haggis can be set free pending possible additional investigation. (AP Photo/Salvatore Laporta)
Credit: Salvatore Laporta
Credit: Salvatore Laporta
Canadian-born film director Paul Haggis arrives at Brindisi law court in southern Italy, Wednesday, June 22, 2022, to be heard by prosecutors investigating a woman's allegations he had sex with her without her consent over the course of two days. Under Italian law, a judge, after hearing arguments from both prosecutors and defense lawyers, will rule on whether Haggis can be set free pending possible additional investigation. (AP Photo/Salvatore Laporta)
Credit: Salvatore Laporta
Credit: Salvatore Laporta
Canadian-born film director Paul Haggis arrives at Brindisi law court in southern Italy, Wednesday, June 22, 2022, to be heard by prosecutors investigating a woman's allegations he had sex with her without her consent over the course of two days. Under Italian law, a judge, after hearing arguments from both prosecutors and defense lawyers, will rule on whether Haggis can be set free pending possible additional investigation. (AP Photo/Salvatore Laporta)
Credit: Salvatore Laporta
Credit: Salvatore Laporta
Canadian-born film director Paul Haggis arrives at Brindisi law court in southern Italy, Wednesday, June 22, 2022, to be heard by prosecutors investigating a woman's allegations he had sex with her without her consent over the course of two days. Under Italian law, a judge, after hearing arguments from both prosecutors and defense lawyers, will rule on whether Haggis can be set free pending possible additional investigation. (AP Photo/Salvatore Laporta)
Credit: Salvatore Laporta
Credit: Salvatore Laporta
FILE - Director Paul Haggis attends the world premiere of "Spielberg", during the 55th New York Film Festival in New York, Oct. 5, 2017. Film director Paul Haggis was detained on Sunday June 19, 2022, for investigation of allegations that he sexually assaulted a woman in southern Italy, Italian news media said, quoting local prosecutors. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP, File)
Credit: Evan Agostini
FILE - Director Paul Haggis attends the world premiere of "Spielberg", during the 55th New York Film Festival in New York, Oct. 5, 2017. Film director Paul Haggis was detained on Sunday June 19, 2022, for investigation of allegations that he sexually assaulted a woman in southern Italy, Italian news media said, quoting local prosecutors. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP, File)
Credit: Evan Agostini
Credit: Evan Agostini
