On Monday, the lawyer for Roman Polanski’s rape victim Samantha Geimer filed an appeal for dismissal of the criminal court case against Polanski. Lawrence Silver, Geimer’s lawyer, wrote in the filing that Geimer (a resident of Hawaii) has been bombarded with interview requests and has been “stalked” by numerous journalists. Silver wrote in the filing, “The pursuit has caused her to have health-related issues. The pursuit has caused her performance at her job to be interfered with and has caused the understandable displeasure of her employer and the real possibility that Samantha could lose her job… Leave her alone.” Christ. Leave her alone, media. If she doesn’t want to talk, she doesn’t want to talk. Enough already.
Roman Polanski’s arrest has caused his victim health problems and job worries, and she just wants to be left alone, her attorney wrote in a court filing.
Attorney Lawrence Silver urged a California appeals court to dismiss the criminal case against the “Chinatown” director.
The filing with the Second District Court of Appeal on Friday said Samantha Geimer and Silver have received nearly 500 media calls seeking comment since Polanski was arrested in Switzerland on Sept. 26.
Geimer, who long ago identified herself publicly, and her family have to contend with such pressure whenever Polanski is in the news, the six-page filing said.
Geimer, who lives in Hawaii, is being stalked by journalists from numerous international news outlets and has received interview requests from Larry King and Oprah Winfrey, the filing said.
“The pursuit has caused her to have health-related issues,” it said. “The pursuit has caused her performance at her job to be interfered with and has caused the understandable displeasure of her employer and the real possibility that Samantha could lose her job.”
The filing seeks dismissal of the case against Polanski and ends with a request: “Leave her alone.”
Geimer has frequently lobbied for an end to the case.
The latest statement filed on her behalf asks a Superior Court judge to rule on a previous motion to dismiss the case.
The Academy Award-winning director is resisting efforts to return him to Los Angeles.
Geimer was 13 when she met Polanski, who was accused of raping her after plying her with champagne and part of a Quaalude pill during a modeling shoot in 1977. He was initially indicted on six felony counts, including rape by use of drugs, child molesting and sodomy.Polanski pleaded guilty to unlawful sexual intercourse, and a judge sent him to prison for a 90-day psychiatric evaluation. He was released after 42 days by an evaluator who deemed him mentally sound and unlikely to offend again.
The judge responded by saying he was going to send Polanski back to jail for the remainder of the 90 days and that afterward he would ask Polanski to agree to a voluntary deportation. Polanski fled the country the night before he was scheduled to be sentenced in 1978.
Geimer sued Polanski in 1988 when she was 25. Polanski agreed to pay her $500,000, but it’s unclear if she ever received the full amount.
[From the Huffington Post]
This is why rape shields were invented – to provide a legal safeguard against this kind of attention, scrutiny and harassment of victims. Unfortunately, rape shield laws don’t protect victims who out themselves, as Samantha Geimer allegedly did (I’m not really sure about the history of that, though). I honestly think that in Geimer’s mind, she never thought Polanski would be brought to justice in America, and I think she made her peace with that a long time ago. That’s why this current situation has caught her off-guard, and it’s probably why her health is suffering. I don’t know, though. It’s just a theory. In any case, I hope Oprah calls her interview dogs off.
I understand why she wants the case dropped, but it simply won’t be and rightfully so. I hope the media will leave her alone as well…
I feel badly for her, but Polanski did it to himself. Brushing it under the carpet now is not going to make the press or anyone else leave her alone.
Seems like Polanski could have avoided the whole thing as he could have just been volutarily deported back when the judge asked him to do so after spending the 90 days in jail. Deportation and 90 days in jail seems like a good deal to me, He should have taken it instead of being a coward and fleeing. Look where that got him.
She put her smiling face out there (it appears at some Roman Polanski film?).
As long as she quits running around looking for publicity, then I totally agree she should be left alone. It just leaves a bad taste in my mouth that she’s the one who keeps coming forward seeking attention – and only now she wants to be left alone?
I agree. Leave her alone. She is not the criminal here. She made peace with this long ago (I’m sure she got a substantial $$$ amount from Polanski), and she claims she has no beef with him, he paid his dues…..
I however, think he needs to stand trial when he gets back and pay his dues like any other american (who isn’t a rich & famous director) would. He took advantage of a 14 year old girl. He gave her drugs and raped her; SODOMIZED her, and then ran and hid like a baby.
Just sayin.
She certainly wanted face time concerning her connection to Polanski, as seen above. But now that it’s not all red carpets and premieres, she’s changed her tune.
The attempt to dismiss the case is pathetic, a slap to victims everywhere. It’s an extremely selfish gesture on her part, a (moot) capitulation to Polanski (mo’ money, mo’ money, mo’ money) -and only served to get her back in the news.
I don’t want to be angry with her, but this is why battered women don’t get to decide if their husbands get prosectuted. It’s the state that makes that decision and she’s now a witness to a crime. I don’t know though. She did go on Larry King when this first came back to light. She was clearly at the premiere of the movie behind her. I think it was the HBO documentary from a few years back. It seems like after those actions she would want to be on Oprah – except I have a feeling Oprah will really hound her about still being a victim and letting him get away with it.
That’s why most countries have statute of limitations. Sometimes seeking justice after years means a further victimization and more suffering not only to a victim but also her husband, children etc.
Polanski served 42 days in a Psych ward, and he was going to serve only the remainder of the 90 days in jail? What an idiot. He should have served the time.
No really, whats with the back drop of the header picture?
What a mess this whole thing is. I’m resisting the urge to blame the victim here, because none of this is in any way her fault, but I do have a hard time understanding why she came out in the first place. I bet she’s regretting it. Something needs to happen soon to get this whole thing resolved so she can finally put it behind her.
I can’t help but think there’s something we don’t know here. Something she is afraid will come out about her if this is brought to the US…I have no idea what. Even something totally unrelated – maybe she was part of some white collar crime and got away with it and doesn’t want her life scrutinized – that’s a hypothetical example, there’s no reason to think that’s true. But I’m just feeling like there’s a missing link.
Seriously Kayleigh, yeah! I mean, I know she’s trying to put it behind her and all, but look what is actually behind her, that backdrop is TOO SURREAL…I mean, what it says, given the history and all, WTF? She might has well just penciled in “and Sodomized” after the “Wanted and Desired bit.” With all due respect, too much is too much, really, I am gobsmacked.
Kayleigh: Wanted and Desired is a documentary about Roman Polanski. Geimer and her lawyer contributed a few minutes at the end telling her side of the story and explaining how she was outed by a local journalist at the time, why she has continued to allow her name and likeness to be used in connection with Polanski, and why she doesn’t want him prosecuted at this point.
Something tells me that Polanski and his lawyers at the time of the incident and now have been hounding her and trying to belittle what happened to her, basically that she was somehow at fault. Even at the time of the assault her family didn’t want to press charges etc. I really get a ‘I must be guilty of something’ vibe from this woman and it’s sad that she thinks this way.
Why is she dressed up and smiling with a Roman Polanski sign behind her? Not a good sign to those for whose sympathy she seeks. This picture sends mixed signals.
Still…I agree that people should just leave her alone about this.
Wow. She was in a documentary about him and stated why she didn’t want him to go to jail. AM I missing something here? Wasn’t she 13 when he drugged and raped her?
Ugh. See this is why pedophiles, epsecially rich ones, get away with a lot of stuff. And at 13 could she even grasp this in its entirety (sp?)to say she doesn’t want him in jail? This is also why a lot of rape victims don’t come forward.
Syffitf, thanks for explaining the poster thing to us. But it still just makes me ill that she spoke up in this man’s behalf when he raped her. Just sad, really.
“That’s why most countries have statute of limitations.”
which the US does on rape cases, but the minute the perpetrator leaves the country, time effectively “stops” in regards to the statute of limitations.
it “starts up” again when the accused returns to face the courts.
Don’t get me wrong, I think he deserves to do time for this, but where the hell was her mother!?!
If you read court transcripts and interviews her Mom didn’t think twice about letting her daughter go off with him alone. She stated in an interview that her Mom pressured her to go. Way to look after your kid.
She was well into adulthood when she unshielded her identity, I remember when she came out. She’s been saying publicly she wants the charges dropped for years, but the media forcing her to actually *file* that request is disgusting.
I feel for her and I wish she would be left alone.
BUT she doesn’t, and shouldn’t, get to decide what happens to the Polanski case. That’s up to the law system.
Praise St. Angie!: thanks for clearing this up to me. I find this case so confusing, there’s no black&white in here (although I think Polanski’s original deed was disgusting and wrong in every possible way, I can’t help feeling sorry for all people involved.
Come on, whatever happened to stnading up for justice and for what’s wrong… this is so weak… BUCK UP DUDE and face the hardships.. you can’t run away from everything…. yeesh :/
justice delayed is truly justice denied. there is no perfect solution to this one. i truly see her point and i also truly think that Polanski needs to see some jail time. i wish there was an in-between solution that would give her the peace she wants but that would also punish the perpetrator. the problem is that law is essentially adversarial. it’s always either-or. so if i had to choose, i would have to respectfully disrespect her feelings and put this man in jail.
Alright, I’m gonna be “that person.” Dang it. “Drugged and raped” make it sound like he slipped roofies in her cream soda, brutally violated her, and tied her to some railroad tracks, all the while twirling his Evil Mustache ™. He gave her champagne and quaaludes, which she took knowing what they were. She got naked, got in a hot tub, and invited him to join her. It’s all in her report, filed at the time of the assault. None of this means he’s right or that she “was asking for it,” but for cripes sake, the man is an idiot, not a monster. Yes, he was wrong to run away and needs to go to jail. But he’s not a pedophile, he’s just a moron. Pedophilia requires a pattern of behavior, and as far as anyone publicly knows she’s the only underage girl he’s ever had sex with.
I’ll happily eat all of that if/when it comes to light that he diddled a dozen teenagers during his time in France, though.
sff, you might be a bit of a retard if you don’t think that “drugged and raped” is exactly what you just described :/