The Oscar winning director, Roman Polanski, was questioned by Polish authorities on an already historic charge, which has been staining his reputation for about 40 years of life: the rape of a minor, the then 13 years old Samantha Geimer. The little girl was an aspiring model and the promise of Roman Polanski to introduce her to the fashion scene could not have been refused. Nonetheless, after having answered some questions to the Polish Police, Polanski was not detained.
The US authorities, knowing that Polanski had attended the opening of the Museum of the History of Polish Jews, contacted the local officials in order to restrain the culprit. Mateusz Martyniuk, a Polish justice ministry spokesman shared to the public the thorny matter on Thursday: “Roman Polanski said he would comply with all requests made by prosecutors in this case and provided his address. Prosecutors therefore decided not to arrest him in connection with a possible US extradition request”.
In 1977, the director of The Pianist was charged with six felonies by the US authorities, including rape and sodomy. At the furthering trial, Polanski pleaded guilty to the charge of unlawful intercourse with a minor. Consequently, he left the country fearing years of conviction. The director has both French and Polish citizenship, and is therefore protected by the state officials of the latter, who have declared that Polanski is a free man. In 2009, while in Switzerland, Polanski was arrested due to another extradition attempt filed by the US.
Last year, Samantha Geimer, the victim of Roman Polanski, decided to make a public statement of the unfortunate 1977 event and published The Girl: A Life Lived in the Shadow of Roman Polanski. She declared that after all these years, it is time for her to have a word on the highly debated matter and that she eventually forgives her aggressor and considers him to be as much a victim as herself.