PARIS (Court TV) — Roman Polanski posed for a picture with the woman he drugged and raped when she was 13-years-old in 1977.
The photograph, which was shared on Instagram over the weekend, was apparently taken as part of an interview that Polanski’s wife conducted with victim Samantha Geimer for the French magazine Le Point.
FILE – Director Roman Polanski appears at an international film festival, where he promoted his film, “Based on a True Story,” in Krakow, Poland, on May 2, 2018. A court transcript shows a U.S. judge planned to renege on a plea deal and imprison Polanski for having sex with teen in 1977. The previously sealed transcript obtained late Sunday, July 17, 2022, by The Associated Press of testimony by retired Deputy District Attorney Roger Gunson supports Polanski’s claim that he fled on the eve of sentencing in 1978 because he didn’t think he was getting a fair deal. (AP Photo, File)
In the interview, which was translated by IndieWire, Geimer told Emmanuelle Seigner that Polanski “paid his debt to society” and that she’s gotten over what he did to her.
The rape occurred on March 1, 1977, during a photo shoot at Jack Nicholson’s house in Los Angeles. According to Geimer’s statement to police and Polanski’s own admission, the Oscar-winning director gave the girl champagne and part of a Quaalude before forcing himself on her.
Polanski has lived in exile in his native Europe ever since he fled the United States on the eve of his 1978 sentencing date. He had been charged with rape of a minor, but pleaded guilty to the lesser offense of unlawful sex with a minor. Polanski, now 89, flew to France when he received word that the judge planned to reject his plea and sentence him to prison.
Geimer, now 60, has since publicly forgiven Polanski on multiple occasions. In her interview with Seigner, Geimer denied being a victim, saying:
“Let me be very clear: what happened with Polanski was never a big problem for me. I didn’t even know it was illegal, that someone could be arrested for it. I was fine, I’m still fine. The fact that we’ve made this thing up weighs on me terribly. To have to constantly repeat that it wasn’t a big deal, it’s a terrible burden.”
In 1988, Geimer sued Polanski for intentional infliction of emotional distress but the parties settled out of court.
Polanski was detained by Swiss police for 10 months in 2009 while traveling to Zurich in an attempt by the United States to extradite him. The Swiss court ultimately released the director.
