What did Roman Polanski do? In March 1977, the filmmaker gave a 13-year-old girl champagne and part of a Quaalude at Jack Nicholson’s Los Angeles home and sexually assaulted her. He was charged with six felonies, pleaded guilty to one, and fled the United States in 1978 before he could be sentenced. He has lived as a fugitive ever since, mostly in France, and the criminal case in Los Angeles is still open.
What Happened in 1977
Polanski, then 43, brought Samantha Geimer to Nicholson’s home under the premise of a magazine photoshoot. During the session he gave her champagne and part of a Quaalude tablet, then sexually assaulted her. Geimer was 13 years old.
A grand jury investigation followed, and the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office filed six felony counts. They included rape by use of drugs, sodomy, a lewd act on a child under 14, and furnishing a controlled substance to a minor. Two facts drove the severity of the case: the victim’s age, and the use of intoxicants to facilitate the assault. Conviction on all counts at trial could have carried decades in prison.
The Guilty Plea
Polanski did not go to trial. He pleaded guilty to one count of unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor under California Penal Code Section 261.5, and prosecutors dismissed the other five counts. That statute covers sex between an adult and anyone under 18 and is classified as a “wobbler,” meaning a court can treat it as either a felony or a misdemeanor.1California Legislative Information. California Code, Penal Code – PEN 261.5 – Unlawful Sexual Intercourse
Before sentencing, Judge Laurence J. Rittenband sent Polanski to the California Institution for Men at Chino for a diagnostic study of up to 90 days. Corrections officials released him after roughly six weeks. His defense team understood that time to be his full punishment.
Why He Fled Before Sentencing
The plea deal broke down when Judge Rittenband began signaling he would impose additional prison time. Transcripts unsealed in 2022 show that the judge had privately told both the prosecutor and defense counsel that the 90-day evaluation would be the entire sentence, but “didn’t want the public or press” to know. Both attorneys later said the judge appeared more focused on public perception than on honoring the plea agreement.
On February 1, 1978, Polanski failed to appear at his sentencing hearing. He had already left the country, flying first to London and then to Paris. The court issued a bench warrant that day, and it remains active.2FindLaw. Polanski v The People, Real Party in Interest
Polanski holds French citizenship, and the US-France extradition treaty gives France discretion to refuse the surrender of its own nationals.3U.S. Department of State. France Extradition Treaty France has consistently declined.
Failed Attempts to Bring Him Back
American authorities have tried to extradite Polanski more than once. In September 2009, Swiss police arrested him at the Zurich airport as he arrived to accept a lifetime achievement award at the Zurich Film Festival. The arrest followed an Interpol search request tied to the 1978 warrant. He spent months in custody and then under house arrest at his chalet in Gstaad. In July 2010, Switzerland denied the extradition request, saying it could not “exclude with the necessary certainty a fault in the US extradition request.” He returned to France.
In 2014, Polanski traveled to Warsaw for the opening of a Jewish museum, prompting a formal US extradition request to Poland. Polish courts refused, and in 2016 the country’s Supreme Court upheld that refusal, closing the case in Poland.
What the Victim Has Said
Samantha Geimer sued Polanski civilly in 1988, alleging sexual assault, false imprisonment, seduction of a minor, and intentional infliction of emotional distress. The parties settled in October 1993 for $500,000 plus interest. Court records show he did not pay on time, and by August 1996 a court entered a judgment against him for just over $600,000.
On the criminal side, Geimer has publicly asked for the case to be dropped. In June 2017 she appeared in Los Angeles Superior Court and asked the judge to resolve the matter, saying she had forgiven Polanski years earlier and wanted the case “put to rest as an act of mercy to myself and my family.” The judge rejected the request. California prosecutes criminal cases in the name of the state, so a victim’s wishes do not control whether a case moves forward.
Other Women Who Have Accused Him
Multiple other women have accused Polanski of sexual assault over the decades. British actress Charlotte Lewis said publicly in 2010 that Polanski assaulted her in 1983, when she was 16. Artist Marianne Barnard said he assaulted her when she was 10. Between 2017 and 2019, four more women came forward with accusations of abuse during the 1970s; three said they were minors at the time. A separate lawsuit alleged he raped a teenager in 1973. Polanski has denied these allegations. None have led to criminal charges in the United States.
Fallout in the Film Industry
For years, Polanski’s fugitive status did not stop his career. In 2003 he won the Academy Award for Best Director for The Pianist, receiving a standing ovation from the audience in absentia.
That shifted with the #MeToo movement. In May 2018, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences voted to expel him, along with Bill Cosby, citing its standards of conduct and the goal of upholding “respect for human dignity.” Polanski sued to challenge the expulsion. In September 2020, the Los Angeles Superior Court ruled the Academy’s procedures had been “fair and reasonable” and upheld the decision.
Where the Case Stands Now
The criminal case is still open in Los Angeles Superior Court, and the 1978 bench warrant is still active. Polanski’s lawyers have tried repeatedly to have the case dismissed or to arrange sentencing in his absence. California courts have applied the fugitive disentitlement doctrine, declining to consider his motions until he physically returns to submit to the court’s jurisdiction.2FindLaw. Polanski v The People, Real Party in Interest He holds French and Polish citizenship, lives in France, and faces arrest if he travels to any country willing to enforce the American warrant.