Film director Roman Polanski, who remains on the run from American authorities after admitting to raping a 13-year-old, will no longer face trial in Los Angeles for allegedly sexually assaulting a different teenage girl, multiple reports confirmed Wednesday.
Lawyers for both the 91-year-old and the plaintiff said Tuesday that the case was formally dismissed over the summer after both sides agreed to a settlement "to their mutual satisfaction." The case had previously been scheduled to go to trial in August 2025, more than two years after it was filed in June 2023.
The plaintiff, identified as Jane Doe, claimed in the suit that she was a minor in 1973 when she went out to dinner with Polanski — known for directing films like "Rosemary's Baby" and "The Pianist" — months after meeting him at a party. Before and after the dinner, she alleged the director plied her with alcohol, leading her to become sick. She claims in the suit she awoke next to Polanski in his bed, and he, ignoring her pleas to stop, proceeded to rape her, "causing her tremendous physical, emotional pain and suffering."
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This was the latest case of sexual abuse claims against the French and Polish director since he was arrested and charged with drugging and raping a 13-year-old girl in 1977. He pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of unlawful sex with a minor as part of a plea bargain, but after learning the judge planned to sentence him to prison time, Polanski fled to his native France, which doesn't extradite its citizens. He's been a fugitive from the U.S. since.
In May, a French court acquitted Polanski of defamation in the case of Charlotte Lewis, who accused him of raping her when she was 16. German actress Renate Langer and American Artist Marianne Barnard have also accused the director of sexually assaulting them as minors.
Polanski has repeatedly denied the accusations against him.
