Film-maker Roman Polanski will face a civil trial in Los Angeles in 2025 for allegedly raping a teenager in 1973.
Attorney Gloria Allred, who has represented the victims of Jeffery Epstein and Bill Cosby, confirmed in a press conference on Tuesday that a judge has set Polanski’s trial for August 2025.
Polanski, 90, has been a fugitive from the US for decades since fleeing the country to avoid sentencing after he admitted to the rape of 13-year-old Samantha Geimer in 1977. The director of The Pianist and Rosemary’s Baby has faced multiple accusations of sexual abuse. The Los Angeles trial comes as Polanski is on trial in France for allegedly defaming a British actor who claimed he abused her.
In this case, Polanski is accused of rape, sexual battery and intentional infliction of severe emotional distress for an alleged incident in 1973.
On Tuesday, Allred appeared alongside a woman, introduced as Jane Doe, who accused Polanski of raping her when she was a minor in 1973. She had met Polanski at a party and months later he invited her to dinner, Allred said. He allegedly knew she was a minor but provided her with alcohol throughout the evening and brought her to his Los Angeles home.
She awoke in his bed where he allegedly told the teen he wanted to have sex with her, Allred said.
“Plaintiff, though groggy, told defendant, ‘No.’ She told him, ‘Please don’t do this.’ She alleges he ignored her pleas,” Allred said, reading the lawsuit. “She also alleges that defendant Polanski removed plaintiff’s clothes and he proceeded to sexually assault her, causing her tremendous physical and emotional pain and suffering.”
Afterward, Polanski dropped her off at home, and she never saw him again, Allred said. While Polanski has returned to business as usual in his life, despite numerous allegations against him, his accuser “has not been able to return to business as usual since her victimization”, the attorney said.
“Our client Jane Doe has demonstrated enormous courage in filing her lawsuit against a famous director who previously pled guilty to a sex crime against a child and then fled to Europe to escape sentencing,” Allred said, adding that the criminal justice system in California had failed to yield a just outcome.
Doe, who first came forward with allegations against Polanski in 2017, filed a lawsuit last year under a change in California law that grants victims of child sex abuse more time to file lawsuits against their abusers.
“It took me a really long time to decide to file this suit against Mr Polanski but I finally did make that decision and I decided I want to file it to obtain justice and accountability,” Doe said.
Four women came forward between 2017 and 2019 accusing Polanski of abusing them in the 1970s – three of them were allegedly minors at the time – including artist Marianne Barnard, who said Polanski sexually assaulted her when she was 10. Charlotte Lewis, a British actor, in 2010 accused Polanski of sexually assaulting her in 1983 when she was 16. Polanski has denied all of the allegations.
Geimer, who Polanski pleaded guilty to raping, last week asked an LA judge to drop the case against the director. She has said that Polanski regrets what happened. “I would implore you to finally bring this to a close as an act of mercy to myself and my family,” Geimer said.
• In the US, call or text the Childhelp abuse hotline on 800-422-4453 or visit their website for more resources and to report child abuse or DM for help. For adult survivors of child abuse, help is available at ascasupport.org. In the UK, the NSPCC offers support to children on 0800 1111, and adults concerned about a child on 0808 800 5000. The National Association for People Abused in Childhood (Napac) offers support for adult survivors on 0808 801 0331. In Australia, children, young adults, parents and teachers can contact the Kids Helpline on 1800 55 1800, or Bravehearts on 1800 272 831, and adult survivors can contact Blue Knot Foundation on 1300 657 380. Other sources of help can be found at Child Helplines International
