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A French court on Friday sentenced film director Christophe Ruggia to five years in prison for sexually assaulting French actress Adele Haenel when she was a child, in one of the most prominent cases linked to France’s #MeToo movement.
Ruggia, 61, had already been convicted last year over assaults committed in the early 2000s when Haenel, now 37, was between 12 and 14 years old, and Ruggia was in his late 30s. He was initially sentenced to four years in February 2025, including two years under electronic monitoring.
The Paris appeals court on Friday increased the sentence to five years, with three years suspended, while maintaining the requirement that he serve two years under electronic bracelet supervision.
Haenel, who starred in the 2019 film Portrait of a Lady on Fire before later leaving the cinema industry, was the first major French actor to publicly accuse the film sector of ignoring sexual abuse allegations.
Ruggia directed Haenel in the 2002 film The Devils, her first screen role. The movie, which depicted an incestuous relationship between two children, included sexual scenes and close-up nude shots involving the young actor.
Investigators said members of the production team had expressed discomfort over Ruggia’s conduct during filming.
Haenel told the court that between 2001 and 2004, after the movie was made, she visited the director regularly and was subjected to repeated inappropriate touching.
The appeals court described the offences as extremely serious acts committed against a pre-teen girl and said they had a proven impact on Haenel’s mental health.
