Rape accuser testifies against filmmaker Paul Haggis

A woman who has accused filmmaker Paul Haggis of raping her has told a jury she felt “like a trapped animal” during her 2013 encounter.

Haleigh Breest gave evidence in her civil trial on Thursday in her lawsuit against the Oscar winner.

She said she accepted his offer to go home from the movie premiere and have a drink at his New York apartment, but made it clear to him that she had no sexual interest.

Mr Haggis insists the 2013 encounter was consensual, and his lawyers argue Ms Brest called it rape because she was for the money.

Ms Breest described what she described as the horrific and painful attack, which left her in shock and “really hard to understand what happened”.

“I can’t understand how someone who looks like a good guy could do this,” she said.

Without looking at him when she spoke, Mr Haggis, 69, looked largely blank, sometimes rubbing his bearded chin or taking notes.

He could choose to testify later in the trial.

Ms. Brest, 36, said she first met Mr. Haggis at the 2012 post-premiere party, where she wrote the Oscar-winning film “Crash” and “Million Dollar Baby.” ” known. She has a side job in an organization that coordinates such events.

Ms Brest and Mr Haggis continued to exchange occasional professional emails and party chats in the months before they met again at another premiere party on January 31, 2013, she said.

After they had some interaction during the event, a drunk – but not intoxicated – Ms Brest accepted the filmmaker’s offer for a ride and then accepted his invitation to drink, she told jurors.

She said she tried to move the environment to a public space, but he pushed it to his apartment in Manhattan’s SoHo district, and she didn’t want to offend one of her employer’s red carpet guests.

“But you know,” she testified that she told him on the way, “I’m not going to sleep in SoHo tonight.”

Ms Brest said Mr Haggis’ progress started the moment she put the bag in the open kitchen in his attic.

“You’ve been flirting with me for months,” he said quickly, according to Ms. Brest.

“I don’t even know you,” Ms Brest replied.

Ms Brest said she was able to temporarily evade and deflect his attempts to kiss her and believed she had managed to politely defuse the situation when he began a friendly tour of the flat.

But as they looked into a guest room, Mr Haggis “soon became aggressive”, pushing her onto the bed, taking off her tights and clothes, which she tried to keep on and told him to stop, she claimed.

She then claimed he forced her to perform oral sex and wanted to have sex. She said her request for a shower was a subtle way to leave the room, but he followed her.

Then, as she left the bathroom to get her clothes, he allegedly put his hands on her shoulders from behind, took her back to the guest room, and proceeded to engage in a series of unwanted sexual acts that culminated in rape.

“I was like a trapped animal. I had nothing to do,” she said.

Ms Breest said she passed out quickly, woke up alone in bed the next morning and left, never seeing Mr Haggis again.

The Associated Press typically does not identify those who claim they have been sexually assaulted unless they come forward as publicly as Ms Brest.