Film director Roman Polanski, 91, no longer faces a trial over an alleged sexual assault on a minor in 1973 after reaching a settlement, news agency Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported citing his U.S. lawyer.
The director (The Pianist, The Palace) fled the U.S. decades ago after admitting to the statutory rape of a 13-year-old in a plea bargain in 1977. After serving 42 days in jail, he left the country when it appeared a judge was reconsidering his release.
The latest case against Polanksi had been filed last year and was due in a civil court in Los Angeles in August 2025 but has been withdrawn amid the settlement, the AFP report explained. The case was “settled in the summer to the parties’ mutual satisfaction and has now been formally dismissed,” it quoted the attorney as saying.
Gloria Allred, the plaintiff’s lawyer, confirmed to the AFP that “a settlement of claims was agreed to by the parties to their mutual satisfaction.”
The civil lawsuit, filed by an unidentified plaintiff in Los Angeles Superior Court and seeking unspecified damages, accused Polanski of raping a minor in 1973 after giving her alcohol. It was filed just before the expiration of a California law that allowed for an extended window for claims against the alleged perpetrators of sexual crimes.
Polanski, a best director Oscar winner for The Pianist (2002), has always denied wrongdoing.
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English (US) ·