A fourth girl supporting the civil rape case of Haleigh Breest towards Paul Haggis on Thursday testified by way of video deposition that after assembly the “Crash” director at a charity occasion, he methodically tracked her down and tricked her into a date, tried to forcibly kiss her – twice – after she’d set specific boundaries, jumped in her cab to observe her dwelling and solely gave up when a passerby acknowledged her hysterical screaming.
Jacinta Kuznetsov took the stand on Thursday and advised how she first met Haggis on the 2015 Toronto Film Festival occasion for his charity, Artists for Peace and Justice. She stated she agreed to have a espresso the following day as a enterprise courtesy, and met him on the Four Seasons the place he was staying.
She stated it felt extra like a “date” – Haggis ordered wine, instantly raised matters that weren’t business-appropriate and on the finish of the assembly, invited her as much as his suite to offer her a “gift.” Kuznetsov agreed that she would go so far as his door – the place he gave her a small bottle of fragrance, and organized for her ticket to a premiere she was attending that night.
Kuznetsov stated she was gutted when she arrived to seek out she was sitting with Haggis, far-off from her work colleagues. She declined his post-screening dinner invitation, however he then adopted her to an afterparty with co-workers and “shadowed” her there, insisting on shopping for her drinks and texting her whereas she was within the lavatory – the place she was pouring them out and panicking.
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When she returned, she’d had sufficient: “I had to tell him that this is not OK,” she testified. She stated when she advised him very emphatically she wasn’t focused on him romantically, he apologized – then adopted her as she left the occasion and tried to kiss her outdoors as she tried to name an Uber.
“He’s now physically assaulting me, it’s no longer the manipulation, those sort of predatory tactics – it’s now physical.” She stated she sprinted to a ready taxi however he jumped within the automobile earlier than she might lock it, inflicting her to scream “Get out!” and “Fuck off!” at him.
She stated he advised her to settle down, and defined that he’d merely take the cab again to his lodge after it dropped her off and pay for it.
“I just wanted to go home so badly,” she stated. “I thought if I complied … I would get home and I would be able to be away from him.” Kuznetsov stated she didn’t even wait for the automobile to cease – she opened the door and ran as quick as she might, however Haggis caught up earlier than she acquired to her entrance door.
“You’re absolutely not coming up to my apartment,” she stated she advised him, fearing that if he did, she can be raped.
Then Haggis tried to kiss her once more, she stated. That’s when she began hysterically screaming, catching the eye of a pedestrian. She stated Haggis froze, and she or he was in a position to race to her condominium and lock the door behind her.
She stated Haggis despatched her textual content messages the next day, appearing like nothing had occurred. “Lovely night,” one learn.
“I wanted to physically throw my phone, I hated it so much,” she stated.
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From earlier:
The former publicist accusing “Crash” director Paul Haggis of rape introduced DNA proof to the civil trial on Wednesday, as attorneys for Haleigh Breest walked a forensic DNA analyst via a extremely detailed breakdown of what was discovered on a pair of tights she says had been torn the evening of the alleged assault.
DNA matching that of Haggis, who had voluntarily submitted to a subpoenaed oral swab, was current within the type of ejaculate in 4 completely different places on the garment, in response to Angela Butler, who recognized herself on the stand as a “senior forensic DNA analyst and laboratory supervisor at the Serological Research Institute” in Richmond, Ca.
Haggis by no means denied having intercourse with Breest, and has maintained that the encounter was completely consensual. His protection has additionally indicated it’ll argue that Scientology is shifting like an occult hand to smear him after an acrimonious parting from the church.
“Ms. Butler, can you tell us to a reasonable degree of certainty whose DNA was in the seminal fluid of the interior crotch of Ms. Breest’s tights?” requested Ilaan Maazel, a member of Breest’s staff.
“Mr. Haggis or someone of his paternal lineage,” Butler testified by way of videoconference from her front room in Petaluma, California.
“Now, you … found the DNA of multiple males on these tights; is that correct?” Maazel requested. Butler stated that she had.
Butler stated she had discovered the DNA of at the very least three males, other than the seminal fluid from Haggis, on the “interior crotch” of the tights, in addition to separate sperm cells belonging to 2 completely different males. None of the opposite DNA had been matched to anybody, she stated, nor might she decide its supply with out comparative samples.
Guided by Maazel’s questioning, Butler additionally famous that sperm cells have been proven to simply switch, resembling in a washer, whereas seminal fluid doesn’t; that the opposite males’ DNA got here from “epithelial” cells, which may very well be from just about anyplace on the physique; and that Haggis’ DNA was the “discernable major contributor” to the pattern.
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Breest first filed her lawsuit towards Haggis in 2017. She stated final week from the stand that Haggis pressured her after a film premiere to come back to his Manhattan condominium in 2013, the place he kissed, groped and pestered her earlier than finally forcing her into undesirable intercourse acts.
Haggis says the encounters had been all consensual, denies wrongdoing and has advised that his acrimonious break up from Scientology has pushed the church to border him. Breest testified Friday that she has no connection to the church and isn’t being supported in any approach by Scientology.
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