Roman Polanski's r-pe victim says media frenzy was more traumatic than attack - and wants case against fugitive director Dismissed
Samantha Geimer, who was 13 when she was r-ped by Polanski, has forgiven the Hollywood star
The 13-year-old r-pe victim of Roman Polanski has called for the case against him to be dismissed, more than 40 years after he plied her with drink and drugs at a photoshoot.
Now 54, Samantha Geimer told Good Morning Britain that she's forgiven the man who r-ped and sodomised her after giving her quaaludes, despite being 43 at the time.
Polanski has been in a self-imposed exile since fleeing the States for Europe in 1978 and has launched several bids to get his assault case dropped.
Earlier this year, Samantha went to a court in Los Angeles in an attempt to get the case dismissed, saying she'd forgiven her attacker years ago and just wanted to forget the whole incident.
Her attempt was turned down.
"I forgave him many many years ago, almost immediately after it happened. Forgiveness doesn't come hard to me," she told Piers Morgan and Susanna Reid this morning.
"He came back to America and served 42 days in prison and was released. He's done his time."
When asked how she felt to see Hollywood A-listers still praise Polanski's work, including giving him a standing ovation when he won an Oscar for The Pianist, Samantha replied: "As for his work and his art and Hollywood and their appreciation of it, I don't think that has anything to do with me so I don't hold any grudges over it."
Amid the current Harvey Weinstein scandal engulfing LA, Piers asked Samatha whether Polanski was to blame for the culture of s-xual abuse in Hollywood.
"I don't think he created that environment - that was the environment. Here in America we have lots of s-xism and women who want to work in that industry feel they have to take it in their stride," she replied.
"More men than just Weinstein use their power in Hollywood."
Samantha went on to argue that her r-pe was not nearly as life-changing as the resulting media circus.
"What he did did not affect me greatly. What happened with the court and the media traumatised my entire family, changed all our lives - my mother had to leave her career," she said.
"Roman served his sentence, he tried to do the right thing - he apologised, he confessed he served his time," she went on.
"I would like them to sentence him to time served, dismiss the case - anything they can do to put an end to this before I have to explain it to my granddaughter. It's been 40 years."
Controversially, Samantha added: "I was a teenager, I was s-xually active, I was not as traumatised by the s-x as everyone would like me to be, that's just who I am. I'm not aggrieved by the way my life has turned out."
