Paul Haggis’ rape accuser scored a “precedent-setting” victory and will now be able to proceed on a civil-suit claim that the director committed a gender-motivated hate crime, a New York appeals court has ruled.

Publicist Haleigh Breest alleges that Haggis raped her in his Soho apartment in 2013 following a film premiere. Breest’s lawsuit against Haggis — who won two Oscars for “Crash” — will go to trial in February, and he will now also face charges of violating a New York law aimed at preventing “gender-motivated violence.”

In 2000, the New York City Council passed the Victims of Gender-Motivated Violence Protection Act. Judges in New York’s First Appellate Division of the Supreme Court wrote of the Haggis case, “Malice or ill will based on gender is apparent from the alleged [rape] itself.”

While the decision is an overall victory for Breest, the judges found that other, unnamed women accusing Haggis of sexual assault, referred to as Jane Does, could not level the hate-crime charge against him, and should for now be removed from the case.

“The Jane Doe allegations herein are not necessary to satisfy the animus requirement of [the city’s gender-violence law],” the decision reads. “Accordingly, they should be stricken from the complaint as they serve no purpose at this juncture and tend to prejudice defendant.”

Haggis’ attorneys at ChaudhryLaw stressed the portion of the appellate ruling pertaining to the Jane Does, and commented to Page Six: “Since Day 1, Mr. Haggis has maintained he is completely innocent. Mr. Haggis has respected the court’s process, and now that the allegations from these anonymous women have been dismissed, he looks forward to the release of the critical evidence currently being hidden by Haleigh Breest’s lawyers. This evidence will prove that these allegations against him were outright false from the beginning.”

Breest’s lawyers at Emery Celli hailed “a historic ruling that ensures that the [VGM law] offers real protection to victims of sexual assault.”