Director Roman Polanski at the Cinergia European Cinema Forum in Poland in 2019.
Oscar-winning director Roman Polanski will no longer go on trial in Los Angeles in an alleged 1973 rape of an underage girl after lawyers on both sides reached a settlement.
Gloria Allred, the lawyer for the plaintiff, confirmed “a settlement of claims was agreed to by the parties to their mutual satisfaction.” Alexander Rufus-Isaacs, the filmmaker’s lawyer, said the matter was “settled in the summer” and has since been “formally dismissed.”
The terms of the settlement were not immediately disclosed. The plaintiff sought unspecified damages.
Allred’s client filed a civil lawsuit against Polanski last year in Los Angeles Superior Court. In the suit, the plaintiff — who has not publicly identified herself — alleged Polanski raped her after giving her tequila, “causing her tremendous physical and emotional pain and suffering.”
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Polanski’s lawyers denied the claim.
“Mr. Polanski strenuously denies the allegations in the lawsuit and believes that the proper place to try this case is in the courts,” Rufus-Isaacs said in a statement at the time.
Polanski has been shadowed by another statutory rape case for decades.
He was charged in 1977 with drugging and raping a 13-year-old girl. He reached an agreement with prosecutors that he would plead guilty to a lesser charge of unlawful intercourse with a minor. He expected to be sentenced to time served and probation.
But in 1978, Polanski fled to Europe before his sentencing. He is still considered a fugitive from justice by American authorities, and multiple attempts to extradite him have failed.
Polanski is one of the key figures in the New Hollywood filmmaking revival of the late 1960s and ‘70s. He is best known for making “Rosemary’s Baby” and “Chinatown.” He won the best director Oscar for the Holocaust drama “The Pianist.”
Polanski was also seared into national consciousness in 1969 after members of the Manson family murdered his pregnant wife, Sharon Tate, and four others at her home.
In early 2018, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences expelled Polanski from its membership ranks.
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