A 59-year-old woman on Tuesday accused famous director Roman Polanski of sexual assault conducted in 1973 when she was a minor, 40 years after he went on the run for raping a 13-year-old girl.
At a press conference recorded by local media in the afternoon and posted online later, the woman, who was identified only as Robin, and her attorney Gloria Allred, claimed that it happened in South California and the allegation was reported to law enforcement early this year, without disclosing more details.
"The day after it happened, I did tell one friend Mr. Polanski had done that to me," Robin read a statement. "The reason with this exception that I kept it to myself is that I didn't want my father to do something that might cause him to go to prison for the rest of his life."
Robin, a blond lady in a silver dress, said at the press conference that she decided to come forward because of Samantha Geimer, a sexual victim of Polanski in the 1977 case, adding she wanted the criminal case against Polanski to end so she and her family can move on.
"This infuriated me," Robin said. "I am speaking out now so that Samantha and the world will know she is not the only minor Roman Polanski victimized."
The new allegation emerged 40 years after Polanski pleaded guilty in 1977 to unlawful sexual intercourse with 13-year-old Samantha Geimer. The famous director fled the country before he was to be formally sentenced.
Polanski, 83, currently lives in France as a fugitive, while his attorney seeks to dispose of the case so he can travel without fear of arrest, but a ruling on that request is still pending by judges of the Superior Court of Los Angeles County.
According to a report of Variety website, Polanski's attorney on Tuesday blasted Allred for interfering in his efforts to resolve the director's 40-year-old rape case.
"If you have a position, you come to court and you file it," attorney Harland Braun was cited by the report as saying. "Why have a news conference? ...The only purpose is to generate publicity and maybe try to influence a judge."
Braun revealed that he had talked to Polanski about the latest claim, and "he said, 'I don't know what this is about. What could this be? It's just unbelievable.'"
Polanski is the author and director of many famous movies, including Rosemary's Baby, Chinatown and Pianist. Pianist won Oscar in 2003. However, Polanski never got the award for fear of being arrested after stepping onto U.S. territory.
