French director Christophe Ruggia appealed the verdict and received a harsher five-year sentence

The case has been described as France's first major #MeToo trial. Actress Adèle Haenel, now 37, accused Ruggia of abuse committed between the ages of 12 and 14, and accused the country's film industry of failing to address the problem.

In February 2025, Ruggia, 61, was sentenced to four years' probation and ordered to wear an electronic ankle monitor for two years.

Now, an appeals court in Paris has increased the total sentence to five years.

Ruggia directed Haenel in 2002 in the film "Homesickness", which was about an incestuous relationship between a boy and his autistic sister.