A judge in Santa Monica, California, set a civil trial date for the rape case involving director Roman Polanski for August 4, 2025.
The filmmaker, who does not need to appear in person because it is a civil matter, faces a lawsuit filed last year by a woman alleging that Polanski drugged her at age 16 and assaulted her while she was unconscious when she arrived at the director’s home.
“The plaintiff recalls waking up in the defendant’s bed with him lying beside her. Although dazed, she told him, ‘Please, don’t do this,’” reads the court document.
The incident occurred in 1973 and was time-barred for criminal prosecution, after the two met at a party and he invited her to dine at a Los Angeles restaurant.
Following the dinner, according to the complaint, they drove to the filmmaker’s residence. He allegedly ignored her pleas, assaulted her, and then returned her to her home.
The plaintiff, identified as Robin M., held a press conference this week with Gloria Allred, a lawyer known for representing women in high-profile cases. Robin M. said she did not report Polanski earlier out of fear and now seeks that he acknowledge responsibility at minimum.
“I stayed silent because I did not want my father to do something that would send Polanski to prison for life,” Robin M. recalled, adding that she told a friend about the events on the day of the alleged assault.
Alexander Rufus-Isaacs, Polanski’s Paris-based attorney, issued a statement to Hollywood press simply denying the accusations and noting that the courts will determine the case’s course.
In the coming months, both sides are expected to begin submitting evidence and sworn statements to bolster their versions, though a settlement before trial remains a possibility.
In 1977, the filmmaker, who holds French and Polish nationality, admitted sexual intercourse with a minor, Samantha Geimer, and served 42 days in custody. He later fled the United States to avoid prosecution after concerns that the plea agreement would be voided.
Geimer sought in 2017 to put an end to the matter, requesting that the Los Angeles court close the case for her own well-being and that of her family, even after writing a widely circulated memoir.
Last year, Geimer posted a smiling photo with Polanski on her Instagram account, asserting that he had fulfilled his “debt to society.” The post sparked condemnation of her as a survivor among some circles.
Meanwhile, the Oscar-winning director, now 90 years old, is also facing a defamation case in Paris after calling allegations by British actress Charlotte Lewis, who claimed sexual assault in 1984 when she was 16, a “ludicrous lie.”