- The French-Polish filmmaker Roman Polański has been charged again in the USA with rape of a minor.
- In 1973, he is said to have gotten a 16-year-old girl drunk and sexually abused her in his apartment.
- Polanski has been on the run from US justice since 1978. At that time he is said to have had sex with a 13-year-old.
A woman in the USA accuses the star director of getting the then 16-year-old drunk and sexually abusing her in his apartment in 1973. Her lawyer has filed a civil lawsuit against Polanski for rape, sexual assault and infliction of emotional distress, she announced at a press conference. A judge has set a trial date of August 2025.
Legend:
Reuters/Charles Platiau (archive)
The plaintiff claims that she met Polanski at a party in 1973. A few months later she accepted an invitation to dinner. The director is said to have known that she was underage when he gave her tequila to drink in his house and in a restaurant. She felt sick and then she only remembered waking up in his bed and defending herself against his sexual assaults – Polanski would have ignored her clear “no”.
Polanski himself had his lawyers firmly reject the allegations. But he believes “that the court is the right place to hear this case.” According to the prosecutor, the defendant does not have to appear in person in court in civil proceedings. In such lawsuits with claims for damages, an out-of-court settlement is often reached.
It is not the first time that Polanski has been accused of sexual abuse of a minor. He has been on the run from US justice since 1978 after being charged with sex with a 13-year-old and has never traveled to the United States since. Polanski is now 90 years old.