Roman Polanski’s 1973 rape trial not moving forward after settling lawsuit

 

Director Roman Polanski had been set to go to court in Los Angeles in August 2025 over the alleged rape of a minor back in 1973. Now, that trial has been canceled as the lawsuit has been settled, Roman’s lawyer, Alexander Rufus-Isaacs, told the French news agency AFP on Tuesday.

The attorney said that the case was settled in the summer to the parties mutual satisfaction and has now been formally dismissed. The lawyer did not confirm nor deny that there was any admission of wrongdoing by Roman.

The lawyer of the unnamed accuser, Gloria Allred, also confirmed to the AFP: A settlement of claims was agreed to by the parties to their mutual satisfaction.

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Director Roman Polanski goes on trial in France for alleged defamation of British actress

The Mirror has reached out to Roman Polanski’s lawyer for comment.

The lawsuit was filed by the plaintiff, known as Jane Doe, in June 2023, where she alleged that the Pianist director took her dinner at a restaurant in Los Angeles in 1973 when she was just a teen. She claimed he gave her tequila, and when she felt dizzy, he took her to his Benedict Canyon home and raped her.

Plaintiff remembers waking up in Defendants bed with him lying in the bed next to her, the suit said. He told her that he wanted to have sex with her. Plaintiff, though groggy, told Defendant No. She told him, Please dont do this.

In 2017, the woman revealed herself with the name, Robin M., at a press conference and said she was 16 when the alleged assault happened.

Mr. Polanski strenuously denies the allegations in the lawsuit and believes that the proper place to try this case is in the courts,” the filmmaker’s lawyer said in a statement at the time.

Actor Charlotte Lewis, also claimed Roman sexually assaulted her when she was 16. She then sued him for defamation when he told Paris Match in 2019 that her accusation was a heinous lie.” The claims were then dismissed during the defamation trial this past May.

The Chinatown director fled the United States for Europe in 1978 after being arrested for drugging and raping a 13-year-old girl a year earlier. He admitted to the statutory rape of Samantha Geimer in a plea bargain before he traveled to Europe in an attempt to avoid a court trial.

After serving 42 days in jail, he became a fugitive of the US in 1978 when he ran away to France after learning that the judge wanted to reject his plea deal and give him a full prison term instead of probation.

 

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