A civil trial in a rape case against director Roman Polanski has been scheduled for Aug. 4, 2025.
A woman identified only as Jane Doe filed the lawsuit against Polanski last summer, accusing him of getting her drunk and then raping her in Los Angeles in 1973, when she was a minor.
“It took me a really long time to decide to file this suit against Mr. Polanski, but I finally did make that decision,” she said Tuesday at a press conference. “I want to file it to obtain justice and accountability.”
Several women have said Polanski raped and/or sexually assaulted them, including some when they were underage. In 1977, Polanski pleaded guilty to unlawful sexual intercourse in a case involving Samantha Geimer, who was 13 years old at the time.
Polanski spent 42 days in jail, then fled to his native France after learning that a judge was considering more prison time.
In recent years, Geimer has minimized the incident. In 2017, she told reporters she was “not as traumatized as everybody thought I should have been.”
Jane Doe first came forward with her account later that year, saying she was upset by Geimer’s statements. She spoke alongside prominent women’s rights attorney Gloria Allred but did not file a lawsuit.
Polanski’s defense attorney “verbally attacked me, stating, ‘If you have a position, you come to court, and you file it,’” Allred said Tuesday. “Last year, that is exactly what we did.”
According to the suit, Polanski and Doe met at his home in 1973, where he gave her two shots of tequila despite knowing she was underage. They then went to a restaurant, where Polanski bought her more alcohol, according to the suit.
Doe said she quickly felt sick, and Polanski took her back to his house. She remembered walking into Polanski’s bedroom, passing out and waking up with Polanski in the bed next to her, the lawsuit says.
According to the suit, Polanski told Doe he wanted to have sex with her, and she responded, “No” and “Please don’t do this.” Polanski then raped her, drove her home and never saw her again, the lawsuit claims.
The suit was filed under California’s Adult Survivors Act, allowing child victims of sexual assault to sue their attackers outside the traditional statute of limitations.
