Polanski Victim: I Want to be Left Alone
Roman Polanski's arrest has caused his victim health problems and job worries, and she just wants to be left alone, her attorney wrote in a court filing.
Attorney Lawrence Silver urged a California appeals court to dismiss the criminal case against the "Chinatown" director.
The filing with the Second District Court of Appeal on Friday said Samantha Geimer and Silver have received nearly 500 media calls seeking comment since Polanski was arrested in Switzerland on Sept. 26.
Geimer, who long ago identified herself publicly, and her family have to contend with such pressure whenever Polanski is in the news, the six-page filing said.
Geimer, who lives in Hawaii, is being stalked by journalists from numerous international news outlets and has received interview requests from Larry King and Oprah Winfrey, the filing said.
"The pursuit has caused her to have health-related issues," it said. "The pursuit has caused her performance at her job to be interfered with and has caused the understandable displeasure of her employer and the real possibility that Samantha could lose her job."
The filing seeks dismissal of the case against Polanski and ends with a request: "Leave her alone."
Geimer has frequently lobbied for an end to the case.
The latest statement filed on her behalf asks a Superior Court judge to rule on a previous motion to dismiss the case.
The Academy Award-winning director is resisting efforts to return him to Los Angeles.
Geimer was 13 when she met Polanski, who was accused of raping her after plying her with champagne and part of a Quaalude pill during a modeling shoot in 1977. He was initially indicted on six felony counts, including rape by use of drugs, child molesting and sodomy.
Polanski pleaded guilty to unlawful sexual intercourse, and a judge sent him to prison for a 90-day psychiatric evaluation. He was released after 42 days by an evaluator who deemed him mentally sound and unlikely to offend again.
The judge responded by saying he was going to send Polanski back to jail for the remainder of the 90 days and that afterward he would ask Polanski to agree to a voluntary deportation. Polanski fled the country the night before he was scheduled to be sentenced in 1978.
Geimer sued Polanski in 1988 when she was 25. Polanski agreed to pay her $500,000, but it's unclear if she ever received the full amount.
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By Anthony McCartney
By Anthony McCartney