Oscar-winning director Roman Polanski, who fled the United States decades ago after confessing to the statutory rape of a 13-year-old girl, has settled a separate underage rape case that was set to go to trial next year.
The civil lawsuit — which concerned an alleged sexual assault in 1973 — was filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court in June 2023, but the plaintiff’s attorney, Gloria Allred, confirmed on Wednesday it has since been withdrawn.
Allred said “a settlement of claims was agreed to by the parties to their mutual satisfaction,” in a statement to NBC News.
In a similar statement to Agence France-Presse, Polanski’s U.S-based attorney, Alexander Rufus-Isaacs, said the matter was resolved “in the summer,” and that it has now been “formally dismissed.”
In the suit, the unidentified plaintiff alleged Polanski raped her in 1973, “causing her tremendous physical and emotional pain and suffering.”
She said she met Polanski, who was allegedly aware that she was underage, at a party and then agreed to join him for dinner a few months later. Prior to their outing, she said Polanski plied her with tequila, offering her two shots while they were at his Benedict Canyon home.
When they arrived at the restaurant, their table wasn’t ready, so they sat at the bar, where “The Pianist” director ordered her more tequila, according to the court filing. She recalled feeling ill shortly thereafter, so Polanski drove her back to his house and she promptly passed out in his bed.
When she came to, Polanski was allegedly laying next to her and told her he “wanted to have sex with her.” Despite turning him down, the famed director started removing his clothes and then raped her, according to the lawsuit, cited by USA Today.
Polanski’s lawyers previously denied the claim.
The allegations are somewhat similar to those in another decades-old statuary rape case brought against Polanski.
In 1977, he was arrested and charged with drugging and raping a 13-year-old girl, but he went on to reach an agreement with prosecutors, requiring that he plead guilty to a lesser charge of unlawful sexual intercourse. In exchange, he would not have to go to prison beyond the jail time he had already served.
The following year, Polanski fled the country on the eve of his sentencing after learning the judge intended to renege on their agreement and send him back behind bars. He’s been a fugitive ever since, but has continued making movies.