Director Christophe Ruggia Sentenced in Adèle Haenel Sexual Abuse Case

French Director Christophe Ruggia has been sentenced to two years of house arrest for sexually abusing actress Adèle Haenel when she was a minor. Ruggia will serve under house arrest with an electronic bracelet and an additional two-year suspension period. The director denies any wrongdoing and his lawyers say that they will appeal the court’s decision.

Haenel first spoke publicly about Ruggia’s crimes in 2019, during an interview with French investigative website Mediapart. Ruggia sexually abused the Portrait of a Lady on Fire actress over the course of three years, beginning when Haenel was 12, and Ruggia was 36. The two met after Ruggia cast Haenel in his 2001 feature The Devils. Haenel played the lead in the film – an incest story between young siblings, with sequences that included nudity and sex scenes between minors. Other adults who were on set reported discomfort with Ruggia’s “inappropriate” behavior towards Haenel.

“Christophe told me that he was in love with me and that the age difference was a curse for him, and that, unfortunately, I was an adult in a child’s body.” Haenel told French investigators.

Judge Gilles Fonrouge said in his ruling that Christophe Ruggia “took advantage of the influence” he had over young Haenel. Although the verdict has brought some semblance of justice, many have expressed discontent with the relatively lenient sentence. The prosecution had requested a five-year prison sentence with a three-year suspension.

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Haenel was one of the first French actresses to go public with her sexual abuse experience during the worldwide spread of the #MeToo movement. She received little support from the industry. In 2020, the actress stormed out of the 45th César Awards after sexual predator Roman Polanski received the award for best director. Polanski remains a fugitive from justice after being arrested in Los Angeles and charged with six offenses, including rape by use of drugs and sodomy, against a 13 year-old girl.

In 2023, Haenel retired from acting, claiming that she could no longer work in an industry complacent with and indifferent to widespread sexual abuse. Although this case represents forward progress in holding sexual predators accountable, it is also a reminder of the film industry’s ongoing failure to adequately address cases of sexual misconduct.

A.J. Weiler writes about culture and entertainment. You can find her on Medium and Muck Rack.