Rome - (AFP) - Canadian director and producer Paul Haggis has been arrested in southern Italy on charges of sexually assaulting a young foreign woman, two Italian news agencies reported Sunday, quoting the public prosecutor.

The news agencies ANSA and AGI quoted the public prosecutor in Brindisi as saying that the director and screenwriter "is seriously suspected of committing crimes of sexual assault and bodily harm, with aggravating grounds, against a young foreign woman."
Haggis denied these accusations, saying through his Italian lawyer Michele Laforgia, "Initiate investigations as soon as possible, as I am completely innocent," according to the two news agencies.

AFP could not obtain additional information from the public prosecutor's office or from Laforgia on Sunday.

Paul Haggis, 69, who wrote and directed the movie "Crash", a work that won him several Oscars, was supposed to attend the "Alora Fest" film festival, which starts Tuesday in the city of Ostuni, located in the province of Brindisi.

The public prosecutor indicated that the alleged victim was with Haggis before the festival.

He explained that "the suspect forced the young woman, whom he met some time ago, to have sexual relations with him," adding that she "was forced to undergo medical treatment" as a result of one of these relationships.