Jury deliberations will begin Thursday after tense closing discussions in the New York civil rape trial of Paul Haggis, who was accused of sexually assaulting a former film publisher nearly a decade ago.
It’s unclear how long it will take to reach a verdict, but since it’s a civil trial, the Oscar-winning director of “Million Dollar Baby” and “Crash” only faces potential monetary damages and not a prison sentence.
The case, which spanned more than three weeks, centers on allegations made by Haley Priest, a former film publicist. She filed a lawsuit in 2017 claiming that the director forced her to have oral sex with him and then raped her in his Soho apartment after a movie premiere in 2013. Brest was a freelancer at the event, which Haggis attended as a guest. Although he did not deny that the encounter occurred, Haggis testified that “none of it was of her consent.”
The jury will have to discuss five main topics, including the question of whether the defendant and plaintiff had forceful sex and forced oral sex. Beyond that, juries will decide whether compensatory or punitive damages should be awarded to Brest.
During closing arguments on Wednesday, Haggis’ attorney, Priya Choudhury, attempted to fight Priest’s allegations by questioning her memories of the night and suggesting that she was seeking revenge and fame.
“It’s publicity. What she does is publicity… She wants to be famous. She wants to be Monica Lewinsky,” Choudary told the jury. “Maybe she wants a book deal, she said she was open to that. She said she might want a movie, that she’s open about it.”
Later, Choudary suggested that the lawsuit is a blackmail attempt. This trial is not about justice for her. “This is a blatant cash grab,” she said. “This lawsuit is completely ruled out [Haggis’ career]For Haley, however, this issue is about money. It’s payday.”
During the trial, Haggis presented a different picture of the events that occurred that night. He claimed that Priest seemed very interested in him and voluntarily engaged in oral sex with him after he said she was “very good at this”. He also testified that Priest had been sending “mixed signals” in his apartment and admitted he had “no recollection” of having sex with her that night.
Meanwhile, Priest, then 26, said she reluctantly agreed to have a drink at the director’s apartment after he turned down her suggestion to go to a public bar. She recalled feeling “extremely paralyzed and terrified” as 59-year-old Haggis kissed her against her will and took her to a bedroom, where the alleged sexual abuse came to light.
“When you say yes to a drink at a guy’s house after midnight, you can’t be shocked when he’s passing you by,” Choudhury said during the three-hour closing discussion. “This is the world we live in. We all know what that means.”
The defense also returned to the Church of Scientology. Haggis and his lawyers have repeatedly claimed that the charge of raping Brest was in retaliation for the director’s decision to leave the controversial – and loudly criticized – religion in 2009. During the trial, lawyers for each side apparently agreed that there was “no evidence” to suggest Brest had ties to him. Scientology, but the defense claims that the reason for the lack of concrete evidence is that the church does not leave fingerprints. Breest’s team linked the argument to a conspiracy theory.
“One cannot tell the Paul Haggis story without talking about Scientology,” Choudhury said. “Scientology is permanently attached to it like a dark shadow.”
During closing arguments for the prosecution, Brest’s attorney Ilan Mazel responded to this allegation, saying:[Blaming Scientology] It is the perfect defense. There was no evidence, so you will never know.” He added: “The church is a cult, and Mr. Haggis is a rapist. Both are correct.”
The plaintiff’s attorney also doubled down on asserting that Haggis used his fame and standing in Hollywood “to grab, manipulate and attack vulnerable young women in the film industry.” Although Priest was only suing Haggis, her legal team used the testimonies of four other women, all of whom had accused the director of assault, to prove that his alleged rape of Priest followed a pattern of behaviour.
“For Paul Haggis, never means no,” he told the jurors in his two-hour closing argument.
Priest says she was not hired again as a freelance publicist for the Film Society after she filed the lawsuit against Haggis. According to her lawyer, Haggis was a friend of the Brest president of the Film Society, who hosted the premiere of the film on the night of the accident.
The plaintiff did not ask the jury for a specific figure on monetary damages, but Mazel noted that “serious injury requires a significant judgment.”
“Tell him no, you can’t rape a woman and get away with it,” he concluded. “This is a Paul Haggis horror movie – and only you can finish it.”
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