“Roman Polanski learned of the civil proceedings brought against him in the United States by a person whose identity he does not know,” his lawyer in Paris, Me Delphine Meillet, said in a press release.
The Franco-Polish filmmaker is called to appear in August 2025 in California, during a civil trial for a rape of a minor which allegedly took place in 1973. Accusations that he contests “with the greatest firmness”, according to his Parisian lawyer.
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This trial would above all be dedicated to the victim, explained Gloria Allred, his lawyer who is also the figure of the #MeToo movement and the representative of victims of fallen producer Harvey Weinstein.
His complaint was filed in June 2023, just before a window of time closed during which, according to Californian legislation, litigants could file complaints for rape or sexual assault dating back years earlier.
Los Angeles, 1973
Nicknamed Robin for a time and presented as Jane Doe in her complaint, the woman whose identity or age is unknown made these accusations public in 2017. She accuses Roman Polanski of having taken her to dinner in a restaurant in Los Angeles , one evening in 1973. She was only a teenager then.
He allegedly made her drink tequila then took her home before attacking her.
Her lawyer told the press that she then told him "please don't do this."
“She maintains that he refused her requests,” she added.
She also alleges that Defendant Polanski removed the plaintiff's clothes and then sexually assaulted her, causing her immense physical and emotional suffering.
The plaintiff is seeking damages, without a specific amount.
Roman Polanski's lawyer denounces a type of procedure "specific to the State of California", which "allows a complainant to make the worst accusations after more than half a century, without the slightest proof or justification ".
Fugitive at liberty
The director's presence at the audience is very hypothetical.
In 1977, accused of having drugged and raped Samantha Gailey (later Geimer), then aged 13, he was convicted of “illegal sexual relations”.
Released after 42 days in prison, he then fled to Paris.
Since then targeted by an international arrest warrant from the American justice system, he has always managed to evade extradition requests but remains considered a fugitive in the United States.
Since then, around ten other women have accused him of sexual assault and rape.
Accusations that they dispute.
None of this, however, stopped him from flourishing his success in the cinema since he has since won three Oscars and a Palme d'Or.
Last week, Roman Polanski was on trial in Paris for defamation after describing the accusations of sexual assault made against him by British actress Charlotte Lewis as “odious lies”.
The director was represented by his lawyers.
The judgment was reserved until May 14.