A film director has been found guilty of sexually abusing a 12-year-old actor while working on a movie, in one of the first #MeToo-related verdicts in French cinema.
Christophe Ruggia was accused by actor Adele Haenel of repeatedly touching her inappropriately while working on the movie The Devils in 2001, when he was 36. He was sentenced to four years by the French court but will avoid jail, having been issued a two-year suspended term and two years with an electronic ankle bracelet. Ruggia maintains his innocence and will appeal the verdict, his lawyer Fanny Colin told reporters on Monday.
