| People v. Roman Polanski | |
|---|---|
 Polanski's 1977 mug shot | |
| Court | Los Angeles County Superior Court |
| Full case name | People of the State of California v. Roman Polanski |
| Decided | August 1977[1] |
| Verdict | Pleaded guilty to unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor |
| Charge | |
| Court membership | |
| Judge sitting | Laurence J. Rittenband |
On March 10, 1977, 43-year-old film director Roman Polanski was arrested and charged in Los Angeles with six offenses against Samantha Gailey (now Geimer),[2] a 13-year-old girl:[3] unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor, rape by use of drugs, perversion, sodomy, a lewd and lascivious act upon a child under the age of 14, and furnishing a controlled substance to a minor. At his arraignment, Polanski pleaded not guilty to all charges,[4] but later accepted a plea bargain whose terms included dismissal of the five more serious charges in exchange for a guilty plea to the lesser charge of engaging in unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor.[5]
Polanski underwent a court-ordered psychiatric evaluation,[6] and he was placed on probation.[7] However, upon learning that he was likely to face imprisonment and subsequent deportation,[8][9] Polanski became a fugitive from justice, fleeing to England and then France in February 1978, hours before he was due to be formally sentenced.[10] Since then, Polanski has mostly lived in France and has avoided visiting any countries likely to extradite him to the United States.
- ^ "A timeline of Roman Polanski's 4-decade underage sex case". Associated Press News. September 2021.
- ^ Keegan, Rebecca (September 16, 2013). "Samantha Geimer tells her side of story in Roman Polanski case". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on November 3, 2014. Retrieved June 27, 2022.
- ^ "The slow-burning Polanski saga". BBC News. BBC. September 28, 2009. Retrieved October 10, 2009.
- ^ "Polanski Pleads Not Guilty in Drug-Rape Case". Los Angeles Times. April 16, 1977. Retrieved November 1, 2009.
Polanski pleaded not guilty Friday to a Los Angeles County Grand Jury indictment charging him with drugging and raping a 13-year-old
- ^ Romney, Jonathan (October 5, 2008). "Roman Polanski: The truth about his notorious sex crime". The Independent. London. Retrieved October 10, 2009.
Hoping to preserve Geimer's anonymity, her attorney Lawrence Silver arranged for Polanski to plea-bargain, to keep the case from going to trial. Accordingly, Polanski pleaded guilty to the lowest of the counts against him, unlawful sexual intercourse.
- ^ Higgins, Alexander G. (October 19, 2009). "Court Orders Polanski Kept in Jail". The New York Times. Retrieved October 19, 2009.
- ^ Cieply, Michael (October 2, 2009). "How Polanski's Probation Officer Saw His Crime".
- ^ Palmer, Brian (September 28, 2009). "What's Unlawful Sexual Intercourse?". Slate. Retrieved October 10, 2009.
- ^ Cieply, Michael (October 2, 2009). "How Polanski's Probation Officer Saw His Crime". The New York Times. Retrieved October 12, 2009.
- ^ "Polanski Flies to Paris as Officials in U.S. Ponder Prosecution Move". The New York Times. February 3, 1978.