A court in the southern city of Lecce
has said that the story of a 29-year-old British woman who
accused Oscar winning director and screenwriter Paul Haggis of
sexually abusing her in Italy in June had numerous
"incongruences and contradictions".
The court, which was explaining its decision to reject a
petition from prosecutors for Haggis to be put under arrest
again over the allegations, said it could not be ruled out that
the woman had "speculative intentions".
The case against Haggis has now been dropped.
Haggis was detained under house arrest for 16 days over
allegations he sexually assaulted the woman in Ostuni in Puglia
for three days in mid-June.
Haggis, 69, won his Academy awards as producer and screenwriter
of the 2004 film Crash, which he also directed.
He also wrote the Oscar winning Clint Eastwood vehicle Million
Dollar Baby (2004).
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