On Friday, November 8, Valentine Monnier accused 'The Pianist' director of ripping off her clothes and making her submit to a number of unpleasant acts back in 1975.
- November 9, 2019
AceShowbiz - Roman Polanski's attorney has denied a new rape charge against the exiled filmmaker.
Actress Valentine Monnier has accused the director of sexually assaulting her in 1975, when she was 18, as part of a Le Parisien article, published on Friday, November 08.
"In 1975, I was raped by Roman Polanski," the alleged victim wrote in a statement to the publication. "I had no connection to him, personal or professional, and barely knew him.
"This was an extreme act of violence, after we went skiing at his chalet in Gstaad (in Switzerland). He hit me, ripped off my clothes until I surrendered, and made me submit to a number of unpleasant acts. I had just turned 18 years old."
Polanski's attorney was quick to deny Monnier's allegations, made on the eve of the release of his client's latest film "An Officer and a Spy", reminding La Parisien editors "the alleged action took place 40 years ago" and "they were never, throughout all these long years, brought to the attention of a judiciary authority or to Mr. Polanski".
"Under these conditions, I strongly protest the release... of these accusations," the statement reads.
Polanski is still a wanted man in the U.S. after fleeing the country during proceedings following his alleged sexual assault of an underaged girl at a Hollywood party in the late 1970s.
Now 86, he was arrested in 1977 and charged with drugging and raping 13-year-old Samantha Geimer. He pleaded guilty to the lesser offence of unlawful sex with a minor and served 42 days behind bars. He became a fugitive from U.S. justice after learning a judge was planning to hand him a lengthy sentence. American lawmakers have been seeking his extradition ever since, so he can finally be brought to justice.
