Samantha Geimer, Polanski's victim, doesn't back prison time for the director

Roman Polanski's efforts to have a 30-year-old rape conviction dropped has an unlikely advocate in his victim, Samantha Geimer.

Geimer was 13 years old when Polanski allegedly plied the aspiring model with Champagne and Quaaludes and told her he was photographing her for French Vogue. The 1977 incident occurred in a bedroom in Jack Nicholson's house. Actress Anjelica Huston, who was also in the home, was a potential witness. Polanski was arrested in L.A. and pleaded guilty to one count of unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor. He then fled to France.

Geimer, now a mother of four, has said repeatedly and publicly that she thinks Polanski was treated unfairly and expressed a desire for the case to be resolved without prison time.

When Polanski sought to have the rape charge dismissed in 2008, she told The Times she welcomed an opportunity finally to end the case. "It's been a long time," she said. "I don't wish for him to be held to further punishment or consequences."

In 2003, she wrote an Op/Ed piece for The Times saying the case should not be a barrier to him winning an Academy Award:

Now that he's been nominated for an Academy Award, it's all being reopened. I'm being asked: Should he be given the award? Should he be rewarded for his behavior? Should he be allowed back into the United States after fleeing 25 years ago? Here's the way I feel about it: I don't really have any hard feelings toward him, or any sympathy, either. He is a stranger to me. But I believe that Mr. Polanski and his film should be honored according to the quality of the work. What he does for a living and how good he is at it have nothing to do with me or what he did to me. I don't think it would be fair to take past events into consideration. I think that the academy members should vote for the movies they feel deserve it. Not for people they feel are popular.

Polanski ended up winning best director for "The Pianist."

She could not immediately be reached for comment on the director's arrest in Zurich. He's in Swiss police custody awaiting extradition to Los Angeles after being arrested there in connection with the rape case.

-- Shelby Grad

Photo: 2008 file photo, Peter Kramer / Associated Press

Comments

[Erika]

I understand both sides of the issue.. I totally understand why Mrs. Geimer wants this to just end.. its been 31 years people! Hasn't see had enough.. but I also believe that people should not go unpunished for wrongful doings. Whats this world coming too??

[suzanne]

C'mon people you commit a crime, you do the time...

[enufalready]

This is her life and Roman Polanski's life, it is not fair for ulterior motives by people who are not affected, to drag this out. Let this woman have some peace, and Roman Polanski's paid!

[Kathy]

I can also understand why the victim would not want to be constantly reminded of this. At the same time, I can't help thinking that a man that would give a 13-year-old quaaludes and alcohol in order to have sex with her probably had done it before, or has done it since. If he wasn't famous, I don't think there would be any question that this man shouldn't be allowed to prey on others.

[Alison]

Sounds as if she's buried her feelings and doesn't want to relive the issue.

This could have all been over years ago had Polanski acted like an adult and done his time. He's a chicken.. and a felon.

[Adamwestiii]

If this is what Ms Geimer wants, then let it be at that. I believe this is a decision she has made, and it is her judgement and therefore, it's no one else's concern! I'm sure this is still on Polanski's and he may in turn consider giving her a large sum of money. This would be more beneficial than giving it to government.

[Bryan]

Mrs. Geimer has healed and moved on. Undoubtedly she's wondering "why can't these outraged folks let go and get a life?"

[BlazinBob]

Nobody's fault but Polanski's. He needs to stop running away from his duty to take responsibility for his poor choices. He had his opportunity to defend himself in court and will now again. He's a felon and a sexual predator who needs to reflect on his sorry life from behind bars in State prison, with a hefty penalty for running away BTW.

[mike sandarelli]

forget all the hype about all his acculades for his movies. the man is a criminal. he is a fugitive from justice and should be treated as such. in otherwords if your a fugitive you should be exonorated because your famous,its not fair for the criminals who were arrested

[Da Maverick]

Does this mean he will have to register as a sex offender? I hope so, I want to know exactly where he lives so I can tell him personally how bad a film The Pianist was.

[Andrew26]

"C'mon people you commit a crime, you do the time..."

I wonder if you feel the same about George Bush.

;)

[Matt]

Let me get this straight, Roman--a famous and powerful middle-aged man gives a 13 YEAR OLD GIRL booze and drugs, then lies to her (French Vogue?) to get her to sleep with him, and we're supposed to be worried that the prosecution was somehow unfair? And since you've chosen to live the good life in Europe for the last 30 years rather than accept the judgement of the country in which you did this, we're supposed to just let it go? Sorry, my brother, that's not how we do it in this country. If France thinks date-raping teenagers is just part of middle age, fine, you should have done it there. PS, love your movies...

[Early Cuyler]

This might come as news to some, but victims don't have a say in what is or isn't done to their victimizers once the State has filed charges and the accused has pleaded guilty. The heavy sentence is going to be for fleeing the court, BTW, not the sex charge.

[Noelle]

Come on, you can't even comment on this message board if you're 13. Surely you can't screw Polanski. Even if he shouldn't serve time Polanski should be tried by a jury, or do you people honestly believe that time and talent make you imprevious to the most democratic judicial system on the planet? If he is truly not culpable, that will be reflected in court, not in the the Hollywood Reporter or by AMPAS.

[jenn]

Da Maverick, I concur. That was the best laugh I had all day.

[meandi]

do you still like raping kids, mister polanski?

[Diana]

Many victims end up forgiving their rapist, but the rapist still has to be punished for what they did. It don't matter whether or not she wants him in jail. The case is now a federal matter. He has gone all these years without being punished for his crimes. How has he paid? By living like a king in France? He is no better than all the other child rapist that walk free. I am glad that they finally got him, and now he has to be made responsible for his actions.

[Jacques]

While I respect her opinion, I still believe he should serve his sentence. Crime is a crime ...it does not matter if the victim wants to protect or forgive those convicted of a crime.

[Jim]

It's not up to her to decide his fate. The decision belongs to the State of California. Also, he is a federal fugitive for crossing state lines and fleeing the country to avoid prosecution.

[Kelly]

This is so sad! I didn't know exactly what Polanski was charged with until today. After reading Samantha's comments I'm more hurt by his actions. I do understand why she feels like this. She WAS a victim and doesn't want to be one. I admire her kind words. However, there will never be any justice in what he did.
He came to our country. He took advantage of everything we have. We gave him money, fame & what did he do with it??? He got arrogant and raped a 13 yr old girl. When the courts gave him a "deal" to keep him from a life in prison he took it...then he fled the country for HIS homeland???
We need the $ we've wasted chasing him. He owes the time & if justice was done he would've been DEAD a long time ago. Pedophile. 44 yr olds know better! Someone needs to tell him NO you can't have everything you want.

[Jules Gilbert]

I wonder how Mrs. Geimer would feel if the same event was to occur to a 13-year old daughter of her's.

Sincerely, Jules

(I don't know that she has children and I do not want this published if it is likely that her children might come to harm.)

[Anon]

how would you like to become known and reknown again, over and over, decade after decade as the rape victim of Polanski? Christ, seems like as soon as she is allowed to live a normal life, the DA resurrects this notoriety. They don't care about the victim in this case. the whole thing is absurd.

[Karen Anderson]

Polanski (a successful and intelligent man, no doubt), whom I will NOT refer to as "Mr." should be held accountable for what he has done! He raped a 13-year-old girl and regardless of his prior tragedy of losing his pregnant wife to a horrific murder, he was aware of what he was doing at the time. He was not worried about what he was doing to this beautiful young girl; he did not care if he caused her emotional and/or physical scars for the rest of her life! He is an absolute pig. Physical abuse is PHYSICAL ABUSE and should NOT BE TOLERATED. Anyone who was guilty of this crime in 1977 (who did not have the credentials and success that Polanski had) would have rotted behind bars! The rich and famous are immune to the law and THIS NEEDS TO STOP! His time has arrived to "pay for the crime" and I hope he is not "left alone" as Samantha Geimer has requested. She needs to be proactive (if not for her own experience, to speak up for girls who may have been victims following her incident). His abuse toward younger girls most likely did not STOP with one incident. I imagine a lot of young women may have been molested at the hands of Polanski, and the stories will surface once he is extradicted back to the U.S. Mothers and fathers learning of this for the first time might question their daughters who he may have photographed in other countries (and possibly more stories of the same content will surface). Samantha Geimer does not want to relive the experience because she has most likely put it behind her (doubtful) but it can happen. She is taking the typical stance of a victim (trying to protect him). I read the transcript of the original Grand Jury minutes of April 4, 1977 on the Internet. I felt angry and as I said earlier, he's a P-I-G! I hope his days of drinking champagne are OVER~

[captain grumpy]

I understand the family SETTLED over the incident years ago,BUT not showing up to court has nothing to do with the victim. He is on the run and should be sent to prison. The rape in this case is non existant as far as the law is concerned.
I hope the paedophile rots in prison for that is what he is.

[Abraham]

This is a case of Jew sticking up for a Jew.

If he had sex with a 13 year old child he should be placed on the sex offenders list and sent to prison for rehab.

[Jonbonjovy]

He committed a very serious crime and now seeks some kind of pass because he skipped bail and went to a country that doesnt prosecute the same. But seriously, plying a 13 year old with booze and quaaludes to get a little nookie? If anyone else did that they would go to prison for 20 years.

[P Thomas]

She's still a victim. Dropping the charges does not excuse the offence although it may modify the sentence from imprisonment to a substantial payment to other female victims of rape or assault.

[Julz]

Hasn't the statute of limitations run out on this yet? This is such a waste of everyone's time, and government resources!

Why should anyone (but the victim or Polanski) give a crap about this matter? He was in jail while awaiting sentencing (so he did some time), and if she's gotten over it... GOOD! It needs to be left alone!

Also, does anyone here find it odd that her parents are not too blame here? I find the parents in this scenario more disgusting because they were probably trying to make money off of their kid's modeling career, and would schmooze with anyone (even if it seemed a bit creepy) just to get ahead! They needed to use some common sense here, but when it comes to money and gain... that's the only thing of importance, I guess!

And its not like it was uncommon knowledge that Polanski liked younger females... and certainly... like the murder of his wife didn't damage his brain a bit! So letting your kid run off with someone as damaged as Polanski... is just bad parenting!

[Patt]

Why isn't Jack Nicholson being charged in this case? If the incident took place at his house, and the victim was 13-years-old, shouldn't he be responsible for her safety? Why was she allowed to be alone with an adult in a bedroom?

And why is Steve Cooley so intent on spending our money to extradite this man back to Los Angeles? Don't we have more important things to spend out time and money on?

I'm not condoning what Mr. Polanski did, but the purpose of prison is twofold: rehabilitation and (for those who can't be rehabilitated) removal from society. I would venture to guess that Mr. Polanski is not going to have sex with any more minors, and barring evidence to the country he seems to have achieved rehabilitation, therefore sending him to prison doesn't benefit anyone. Since the victim in this case doesn't wish to pursue charges against him, it's time to drop this and move on.

[yoyo]

Samantha Geimer has kids. I wonder if she minds, i know some guys who'd be happy to "pay" 45 days in lockdown for a chance at her underage daughters.

their are a lot of great artists in prison. many are there for a rape they committed 30+ years ago. maybe many of them could have made great movies too had they not been incarcerated. let's make an island with great artists who like to rape and ship them kids from a lottery.

fry the molester.

he ran like a coward and didn't have to pay. make him pay NOW!

[Mike]

Polanski and Geimer settled out of court years ago. She received a substantial financial payment. Is he guilty? Yes. Did he flee? Yes. But, and this is a big but, it has now been over 30 years. Mrs. Geimer received a large financial settlement. Mrs. Geimer has repeatedly stated in public and to the media that the case just needs to be dropped and go away. She doesn't care about it at all. She put it behind her 28 years ago. Question is - Why hasn't the LA District Attorney Office? What are they trying to prove? Chances are since Polanski and Geimer settled out of court, he won't do prison time at all anyway. People... over 30 years and the LA District Attorney is still pursuing an unlawful sex with a minor case. I can understand it if he killed somebody and the family wanted justice. This woman just wants it all to end. She was paid, she is happy and fine with that, and has publicly stated over and over "Let ot go already". The District Attorney wants to show that celebrities are not treated differently? Really? They want to go there? ... OJ, Robert Blake, Lindsay, Britney, and so on and so on...

[j.r.cook]

Give me a break. I'd like to know if anyone has asked Polanski what he thinks an appropriate punishment would be if a 45 year old man raped and sodomized his daughter .( if he had one.) in the way he abused this young girl. This is nauseating. One set of rules for the haves and another for the have nots.

And yes, His victim deserves some privacy.

[S. Depelteau]

I think you are a great person for letting it go, after all, we women have to come to terms with episodes that we would rather just forget. It is for the best.

[ricardo]

sorry lady buts not about what you want anymore , he needs to go to jail

[Ken McKenna]

If you are under 13 years of age you may read this message board, but you may not participate.

You may, however, get yourself plied with drugs and alcohol and raped by a man who pleads guilty but flees the country before sentencing.

If that happens, the Los Angeles Times and an assorted gang of creepy Hollywood and French celebrities and officials will stand ready, willing and able to refer falsely to the convicted but unsentenced rapist as an "accused rapist," suggest that authorities attempting to bring your rapist to justice are somehow themselves out of control or "sinister," and otherwise do what they can (both subtly and not subtly) to secure the perpetrator's release in ways they wouldn't consider doing for a moment for ordinary child-rapists BUT ONLY IF THE RAPIST HAS MADE MOVIES THAT THEY LIKE!

[Ellen]

An abused wife may forgive her husband even though he has injured her so badly that she cannot walk. Nevertheless, he has to answer to society. While this woman, Mrs. G, may forgive and forget Mr Polanski, his deed and his running away should be dealt with according to the law.

[Jeanie]

Well, then if people feel he's paid enough for his crime, then Charlie Manson surely has. Shall we free him as well?

[Pamela C]

In response to enufalready...following the law is not an ulterior motive; bringing a heinous criminal to justice is the basis of our legal system. Justice delayed is justice denied. Mrs. Geimer was indeed denied justice and much to her credit has moved on. Kudos for her maturity and forgiveness.

I'm proud of our country for pursuing this premeditated child molester to the ends of the earth to bring him to justice. He lied to her under pretense; he drugged her; he sodomized her. She was 13 and an aspiring model; he violated her trust then he violated her body. What if it was your daughter, sister or mother???

[Randy I of Mililani, Hi.]

Director Roman Polanski should be held accountable for his criminal actions just as any other convicted rapist would be. Regardless of what his victim says, this is still a crime against not just her, but that of our society. He broke the law and with a minor at that. It would have been bad enough that he had raped any woman, but a 13 year old girl? I would say that that is really unconscionable, and what's worse is that he has never really served time for his offense. Plus the fact that he has well known famous fans in his corner. How about for the victim, and any other potential victims? Would you want this man around your underage daughter? If he was not famous there would be no question that he should not serve the sentence that he deserves ~ so be it; let him serve it now.

[Electric Grandma]

Ah, the American lust for revenge. Where everything is black and white and the victim remains always a victim.

[Kari]

I can understand why Ms. Geimer feels this way. You want it closed and to move on.

I don't think this is at all about the public's need to exact revenge against someone. I think it's a very sensitive topic, one which has more than likely affected many throughout the country. Polanski should have served his time. The reality is that he did not, regardless of how "sketchy" the judge was, etc. He brutally raped a young girl. I say brutally, because I'm getting the impression that rape is not enough to convince people it's a crime. Or, as Whoopi Goldberg said, it wasn't "rape-rape."

It is outrageous to me that anyone support Polanski, let alone have the audacity to sign a public petition in his favor. It's horrific. This man drugged and anally raped a young girl. I don't care how traumatic his life was, because it is no excuse. It's a way of thinking that is habitual and extremely dangerous. He preyed on this person. That mentality is not a one-time deal. I would put money down that he has done similar acts multiple times. After all, how many aspiring models and actresses can you bet he's met during his life?

To attribute this behavior to the "crazy" behavior of the 60's and 70's is simply asinine. Anyone with half a brain would, at the very least, not share such a stupid opinion.

Polanski is a criminal and was convicted of rape. Hollywood as a moral compass my ass.

[Tim]

I am stunned that ANY woman would not be repulsed by this dispicable human being(Polanski). Any one who has children should imagine this monster violating their child and what the reaction would be. "Time heals all wounds " is a ridiculous premise when it comes to sodomizing an innocent child, or any human being for that matter, the wounds remain forever. If I had found out this man had done that to my daughter, my worst animal instincts would spew forth in rightious violence on this piece of human flotsam named Polanski.

[David Campbell]

Let's think of it this way: Whoopi Goldberg has a 13 year-old daughter (not sure if she does or not). A man she knows, let's say for good measure he's an "artist", seduces the girl, plies her with drugs and alcohol, and has intercourse (and etc.) with her. Whoopi, is this "just rape"? or is it "rape-rape", as you said on your talk show? Sounds like you think "just rape" of a 13 year old is okay. Further, let's say he escapes trial. Are you okay with that? "Ah, shucks, let him go already! after all... he's an artist!", right? Or are you going to scream for justice in parental fury like every decent person/parent/citizen/normal person should do? Or how about this: did you commit a child rape? no problem, make a movie, and we'll forgive you! Hollywood and Polanski-supporters, have you completely lost your minds?

[Tom W.]

If Roman Polanski goes free, then we should also parole Charles Manson!

[bditman]

Because of the ordeal and bad memories, it is understandable that she would want an end to it all. Mr. Polanski could have given her that if he had not fled. Most experts in the filed of child sexual abuse could point out that predators like Mr. Polanski may have several victims; the attack upon her was premeditated and could be part of a pattern of such abuses. Disgusting creeps such as Mr. Polanski should be dealt with accordingly, and not given a free pass to harm other young children. The fact that he has eluded justice for so long should be taken into account, and a sufficiently severe punishment assessed. He should be forced to reimburse the costs of his prosecution and extradition, and he should be made an example of - anything less than 25 years is far too light - and then be given additional time for his fugitive status.

[Fred Bread]

How much did she get paid, and what were the "public disclosure" terms (restrictions) of the civil suit?

Maybe there’s a very good reason for her ... "support".

[chrissy]

he aint above the law----he did a bad thingh---she has probably been paid off to say some of the things she is now saying!!

[julie]

It's too bad your headline doesn't say "doesn't back time for the rapist". That would make the issue much clearer. He raped her. She was 13. He plied her with drugs and alcohol and had sex with her, which was involuntary for her. The least you can do is call him what he is. Lots of people don't back prison time for him, but the issue was/is about rape, not his movies.

[tim]

ATTENTION: All Future Child Rapists Everywhere (except France). Whether you use a gun, a knife or drugs....
We will hunt you down wherever you are and bring you to justice no matter who you are or how long it takes!