The district Atty. George Gascon of Los Angeles asked a state appeals court Tuesday to unseal transcripts related to the criminal case against film director Roman Polanski.
The case could end the decades-long legal saga over the French film director’s sexual abuse of teenagers in 1977.
Roman Polanski’s Sexual Assault Case Will Be Unsealed
In the 6-page court filing, Gascon sought to have the testimony of retired prosecutor Roger Gunson made a public request. Also, the request has been made by the victim in the case.
The name of the victim is Samantha Geimer and marked a reversal from predecessors of Gascon. He sought to keep the words of Gunson under wraps.
It was stated by Gascon. It has been years that this office has fought the release of information that the victim and the public have a right to know.
After careful consideration of the wishes of the victim, the unique and remarkable circumstances that led to and his commitment to transparency and accountability for all in the justice system, his office has determined it to be in the interest of justice to agree to the unsealing of these transcripts.
What Did Roman Polanski Do After Pleaded Guilty?
Roman Polanski ran away from the U.S in 1977. After Polanski pleaded guilty to forcing Geimer to have sex with him when her age was just 13.
Geimer started alleging Polanski, after 43, brought her to the house of the actor Jack Nicholson for a photo shoot. After that, plied her with champagne and part of a Quaalude pill before forcing himself on Geimer.
After arriving at a plea deal with prosecutors, the French film director Roman Polanski was sent to state prison for 3 months of diagnostic evaluation.
American Judge Laurence Rittenband, who was occupying the case at the time. He said that the evaluation would help him to reach a fair sentencing decision. After spending 42 days in prison, the director was released. According to a prison official, the director did not need additional prison time.
Rittenband had faced fierce media pressure and he went against the recommendation and decided to send the victim Polanski back to prison for an additional 48 days.
But he ran away to France, where he holds citizenship. The government of France refused to extradite him, and Polanski has never returned to the United States.
In 2009, Gunson led the prosecution against victim Polanski. He was asked several questions under oath about the case. His testimony was taken to preserve his recollections for possible future legal proceedings against Roman Polanski in case the prosecutor was unavailable for a future trial date.
What Did The Team Of Polanski Say?
The legal team of Roman Polanski has argued that the testimony of Gunson will show that Rittenband intended for Polanski’s short time in custody to be the extent of his sentence.
He tried to contact Gunson on Tuesday but he failed. The legal team of the victim lost the bid to have the transcripts unsealed in 2010. Some recent attempts to uncover the records came from journalists Bill Rempel and Sam Wasson, as per their attorney, Susan Seager.
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