The China Mail - French film director goes on trial over child actor abuse

Christophe Ruggia is accused of sexually assaulting the star of "Portrait of a Lady on Fire" in the early 2000s when she was between 12 and 14 and he was in his late 30s.

Haenel, 35, was the first prominent actor to accuse the French film industry of turning a blind eye to sexual abuse.

Ruggia, 59, once a leader of the French directors' union, has denied all charges. If found guilty of sexually assaulting a minor, he faces up to 10 years in prison and a fine of 150,000 euros ($159,000).

Haenel glared at Ruggia throughout the hour-long summary of events read out in the packed court, while the accused tried to avoid her gaze.

"He said that he had created her," that he "loved her, that others couldn't understand, that he'd been unlucky to fall in love with her, that she had the body of an adult," the judge read, referring to Ruggia.

- Trial sees film extracts -

In 2019, Haenel went public about the assaults, stunning the French film industry, which had been slower than Hollywood to react to the #MeToo movement.

She accused the director of subjecting her to "constant sexual harassment" from the age of 12, including "forced kisses on the neck" and touching.

Ruggia directed Haenel in the 2002 movie "The Devils", a tale of an incestuous relationship between a boy and his autistic sister, who had been abandoned by their mother. It was her first film role.

The film contains sex scenes between the children and close-ups of Haenel's naked body.

Excerpts were shown at the trial on Monday.

One scene showed the 12-year-old actor getting out of the shower and walking down a long corridor naked. In another, the camera zooms in on her as she caresses herself.

Haenel looked shaken and at one stage wiped her eyes with a handkerchief. Ruggia watched all the extracts.

Investigators said the actor told them about sequences that made her feel "very uncomfortable" and others that were "violent".

"I realized that the film was painful for Adele, that she was shocked by the shooting," Ruggia told the trial.

He also said he had the "same relationship" with a child actor playing the brother.

Investigators said before the trial that members of the film crew had told them of their "unease" with Ruggia's behaviour on set.

- 'Adele, you're not alone' -

Between 2001 and 2004, the teenager went to see Ruggia nearly every Saturday. She has accused him of finding a pretext to get close to her during the encounters at his home.

She alleged that he caressed her thighs and touched her genitals and breasts.

"He would breathe hard" and "kiss me on the neck", she said.

While Ruggia has denied he molested Haenel, he has alluded to what he said was the 12-year-old's "sensuality" and admitted "playing the Pygmalion".

He has struggled to explain what they did for hours during their meetings, recalling that he used to give her "a snack" before taking her home to her parents.

About 50 people, mainly women, gathered outside the court before the hearing chanting: "Adele, we believe you. Rapists we see you". They carried placards with slogans such as: "Adele, you're not alone".

In 2020, Haenel stormed out of the industry's Cesars award ceremony in protest against a prize awarded to veteran director Roman Polanski, who is wanted in the United States for statutory rape.

The actor, who has won two Cesars -- the French equivalent of an Oscar -- said she was leaving the industry last year over what she called its complacency towards sexual predators.

Cinema legend Gerard Depardieu, 75, is to stand trial in March accused of sexually assaulting two women. He denies the accusations.

Actor Judith Godreche said this year two French directors -- Benoit Jacquot and Jacques Doillon -- had sexually abused her when she was a teenager. Both deny the charges.

L.Kwan--ThChM