"Crash" director Paul Haggis, who's under house arrest in Italy after he was accused of assault this month, will head to New York City in the fall to begin a sexual assault trial stemming from separate allegations in a different case.
The Oscar-winning screenwriter will stand trial before Manhattan Judge Sabrina Kraus beginning Oct. 11, according to Variety. In December 2017, film publicist Haleigh Breest alleged that Haggis raped her at his New York apartment in 2013. Haggis denied the claim and sued Breest, accusing her and her attorney of trying to extort $9 million in "hush money."
In January 2018, three additional women accused Haggis of sexual misconduct in Breest's updated lawsuit. He denied those allegations. Last year, he requested a New York judge set a trial "at the earliest practical date," due to a lack of financial resources to pay for a prolonged legal battle.
