In 1978, Roman Polanski fled to France before he was due to be sentenced for having unlawful sex with a minor.
The Oscar-winning director had allegedly raped 13-year-old Samantha Geimer during a March 1977 photo shoot, which took place at Jack Nicholson’s home in the Hollywood Hills.
Then, from the LA Times, this is what happened next:
Polanski pleaded guilty to unlawful intercourse with a minor in 1977 and was sent to the state prison in Chino for a 90-day psychiatric study that he believed was his sentence. He was released after 42 days after the prison psychiatrist deemed his crime “playful mutual eroticism.” That finding was in stark contrast to Geimer’s uncontested claims that she was drugged and repeatedly tried to ward off Polanski’s advances before he forced her to have anal sex to avoid a pregnancy.
Under intense public scrutiny, the judge reneged on his promise, telling the attorneys in chambers that he would send Polanski back to prison for the remaining 48 days, after which the director would have to voluntarily deport himself or face a much lengthier sentence.
Polanski fled, getting the last seat on the next British Airways flight to London.
During the trial that Polanski missed, Geimer had “clutched a heart charm her friend gave her as a prosecutor made her describe in explicit detail to a grand jury” what Polanski had done to her.
Although the case has been on the go for four decades now, with Polanski, 83, not being able to return to America for fear of being arrested, Geimer, 54, took the stand on Friday for the first time since in an effort to have the charges dropped once and for all.
She said “freeing the fugitive director of his international warrant would be “an act of mercy to myself and my family”.
Speaking to the media, here’s what else she had to say:
What an ordeal to have to deal with. Let’s just hope the judge finally decides to drop the case and the state doesn’t take it into their own hands – although I am not too sure why Polanski would want to enter the country with an orange-headed POTUS running wild.
