Roman Polanski trial scheduled for next year over alleged 1973 rape of minor
Controversial director Roman Polanski 'strenuously denies' sexual assault allegations
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Roman Polanski received a trial date over sexual assault allegations of a minor in 1973.
The controversial director must face an American judge on Aug. 4, 2025, for a 10-day trial, the plaintiff's lawyer, Gloria Allred told Fox News Digital.
Allred announced during a press conference Tuesday that Polanski, 90, received the case from a process server at his home in Paris on behalf of the plaintiff, Jane Doe. Doe accused Polanski of "childhood sexual assault" in a lawsuit initially filed in June 2023.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}It's unclear if Polanski will appear in court as he hasn't stepped foot on American soil since fleeing the country in 1977 after pleading guilty to having unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor.
ROMAN POLANSKI, 1977 RAPE VICTIM SAMANTHA GEMIER SMILE FOR SOCIAL MEDIA SNAP
Roman Polanski received August 2025 trial date in 1973 sexual assault case. (Beata Zawrzel)
"I have waited a long time to file this case against Mr. Polanski, but I finally decided to file it in order to obtain justice and accountability," Jane Doe said in a statement to Fox News Digital.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Following Allred's press conference, Polanski's lawyer told Fox News Digital, "Mr. Polanski strenuously denies the allegations made against him in the lawsuit and believes that the proper place to try this case is in the courts, and not in press conferences."
Jane Doe allegedly met Polanski at a party in 1973 when she was a minor, according to documents obtained by Fox News Digital. She claimed that he invited her to dinner knowing that she was underage. Doe alleged in the lawsuit that she met Polaski at his home in Benedict Canyon the night they were having dinner.
ROMAN POLANSKI CRIMINAL CASE TRANSCRIPTS ORDERED RELEASED, COURT RULES
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}She claimed that Polanski gave her two shots of tequila before they went out. He drove them to Le Restaurant on La Cienega in Los Angeles, according to the complaint. Their table was not yet ready when they arrived, so they waited at the bar where Polanski proceeded to order more tequila for them both.
Roman Polanski seen in court in 1977 after pleading guilty to unlawful sex with a minor. (Getty Images)
Once seated at their table, "Plaintiff began feeling dizzy from the tequila and went to the restroom where she was ill," documents stated. She stepped outside for fresh air, and Polanski followed her out before "driving her back to his house."
In the complaint, Doe did not recall "how she got from the car into Defendant's home," but passed out in Polanski's bed.
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She woke up with the director next to her, documents stated. "Defendant Polanski removed Plaintiff’s clothes and he proceeded to rape her causing her tremendous physical and emotional pain and suffering."
Allred told Fox News Digital, "In 2017, I held a press conference with Jane Doe who alleged at that time that Mr. Polanski had sexually victimized her when she was a minor and that she was ‘infuriated’ that the victim, Samantha Geimer, in Mr. Polanski’s prior criminal case asked the Court to dismiss the criminal case against Mr. Polanski after he fled California prior to being sentenced.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"Judge Scott Gordon, in rejecting the defendant’s request stated, ‘Polanski cannot avail himself of the Court while standing in contempt of it.’"
Roman Polanski's rape victim, Samantha Geimer, has forgiven the director for the past. (Getty Images)
ROMAN POLANSKI ACCUSED OF 'EXTREMELY VIOLENT' RAPE OF FRENCH WOMAN IN 1975 WHEN SHE WAS 18: REPORT
Allred added, "Although the defendant has appeared to return to business as usual in his life, our client has not been able to return to business as usual since her victimization. The criminal justice system has not yielded a just outcome for the people of California who had a right to see Mr. Polanski sentenced for his sexual crime against a child, but we look forward to our fight for justice and accountability for Jane Doe in the civil lawsuit which we have filed."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The "Chinatown" director reunited with Samantha Geimer last year, the woman he pled guilty to having unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor more than 40 years ago.
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Geimer was 13 years old at the time Polanski — who was in his 40s — was arrested and charged with rape by use of drugs, perversion, sodomy, providing controlled substances to a minor, and lewd and lascivious acts upon a child under 14.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Following his guilty plea in 1977, Polanski fled the country and became a fugitive, first finding refuge in London and then settling in France.
While Polanski has never stepped foot on U.S. soil or any country that would extradite him to the United States, he has still created films and won the Academy Award for best director in 2002 for "The Pianist."
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"Let me be very clear: what happened with Polanski was never a big problem for me," Geimer told Polanski's wife Emmanuelle Seigner, per IndieWire. "I didn’t even know it was illegal, that someone could be arrested for it. I was fine, I’m still fine."
In 2018, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences voted to kick Polanski out and subsequently defended its decision by saying he was given a fair opportunity to challenge the Academy's ruling.
Polanski sued the Academy the following year on the grounds that the group had failed to follow its own procedures when it voted to kick him out. He was expelled alongside Bill Cosby for violating the organization’s standards of conduct.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}In its response, the Academy said the board considered voluminous materials submitted by Polanski on appeal, including more than 400 pages of exhibits and a detailed memo from his attorney. Polanski also recorded a videotaped statement directly addressing the board of governors.