A French court has found film director Christophe Ruggia guilty of sexually assaulting actress Adèle Haenel between the ages of 12 and 15 in the early 2000s.
Ruggia, 60, was sentenced to two years under house arrest with an electronic bracelet and an additional two-year suspended sentence in what is considered a landmark #MeToo trial in France.
The court determined that Ruggia exploited his position of power over Haenel, subjecting her to frequent inappropriate behavior during meetings at his home over three years, isolating her from her support network.
Despite his denial of any wrongdoing, Haenel, now 35, was the first major French actor to publicly accuse the film industry of enabling sexual abuse after the rise of the #MeToo movement.
She initially came forward in 2019, alleging that Ruggia repeatedly touched her inappropriately during and after filming Les Diables (The Devils).
As the verdict was read, Haenel appeared relieved, while women’s rights activists applauded her outside the courtroom.
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