You’re looking at the book cover of a memoir by Samantha Geimer (nee Gailey), who has finally published her account of what happened on the fateful night that Roman Polanski had his overbearing way with her at Jack Nicholson’s house in 1977. Naturally, most people are quite aware of the notorious Roman Polanski rape case, in which he pled “no contest” (which is not the same as “not guilty”) to the rape of a 13-year-old child, which is all well and good except that Polanski fled the United States before serving his prison sentence. Lest anyone believe that the Samantha Gailey case was an isolated incident, Polanski was also accused of victimizing a British actress age 16. Johnny Depp and the like continue to insist that Polanski is “not a predator” and is so deprived because poor Roman was forced to stay out of the US and not collect his Oscar award in person (Adrian Brody picked it up in absentia) for The Pianist.

Of course, many Hollywood stars like to forget the actual crime at hand and forget that there was an actual victim too. In this case, Samantha Geimer (after 35 years of relative silence) has (finally!) published a memoir about what occurred in 1977 at the hand of Polanski, and she (quite interestingly) has chosen to feature a cover photo that was actually taken by Polanski himself a few days before the rape. This cover really brings things home in terms of how young the victim was when the rape occurred, correct? The title of the book is The Girl: A Life in the Shadow of Roman Polanski, and here are some exclusive details from Hollywood Reporter:

The Hollywood Reporter’s exclusive first look at the cover of the book reveals Samantha Geimer’s determination to reclaim her own story.

The cover is a haunting close-up shot of the teenage Geimer (then known by her maiden name, Samantha Gailey), taken on Feb. 20, 1977, less than three weeks before Polanski drugged and raped her at Jack Nicholson’s Mulholland Drive home during a modeling shoot when he also gave her alcohol and a quaalude.

But the photo comes with a surprising twist: It was taken by Polanski himself.

He took the pictures during his first photo session with Geimer, now 50, at her home in Woodland Hills, a session in which the director coaxed the young girl to pose topless for him in some of the shots.

Using the photo was part of Geimer’s strategy to reclaim her story.

Since the incident, the media has always illustrated the story with a picture of Polanski. Geimer finally wanted to put her own face on the story, and this picture reflected the starting point for her.

The pictures surfaced during Geimer’s civil suit against Polanski, which she filed in 1988 and resulted in Polanski agreeing to pay her $500,000 plus interest (a sum Geimer struggled to collect).

Publisher Atria promises that The Girl “will give readers insight into many dimensions of the story that have never been previously revealed.” In announcing the book in 2012, Geimer said, “I am more than a ‘Sex Victim Girl’ [and] I offer my story now without rage, but with purpose — to share a tale that will reclaim my identity.”

[From Hollywood Reporter]

Is it strange that (out of all of the atrocities committed therein) that I am particularly offended that Polanski resisted the act of paying up on the civil settlement of Geimer’s case? It’s not like $500,000 was any skin off his revolving, sex-offender neck. And for years, we’ve had to listen to unironic moanings poor Polanski because — newsflash — he’s a wanted criminal who skipped out on justly deserved prison sentence. But you know, Hollywood types have a problem with reality.

At any rate, Geimer’s book goes on sale on September 17. I hope everyone in the world buys it — the Kindle edition is available at a discounted price! And to inspire you, here are some gross, hand-in-pocket photos of Roman Polanski.

Photos courtesy of Hollywood Reporter and WENN