Author: Kara McVey
Justice cannot be denied forever. In 1977, the acclaimed director Roman Polanski was brought to court for drugging and raping Samantha Geimer, a 13-year-old acquaintance. He pled guilty to the charge, but before the judge ruled on his prison term, he fled the country to evade incarceration. Now living in France, Polanski has never returned to the United States, and due to international treaties between the U.S. and France, he has been safe from extradition for more than three decades.
But all of that ended last Saturday when Polanski flew into Switzerland to attend the Zurich Film Festival and was finally taken into custody. Though the situation surrounding the case is fraught with extenuating circumstances, such as the Manson family’s horrific murder of Polanski’s wife Sharon Tate eight years previous to the Geimer rape, his exceptional contributions to film and the fact that he spent 42 days in a Chino prison facility for a psychiatric evaluation, I believe that Polanski must face the legal consequences of his choices. Regardless of these manifold uncertainties, the fact remains that he raped a young girl, and for that he must be punished.
Many of Polanski’s most public advocates are unclear as to the nature of his crime. One common misconception people have of this controversial issue is that it was a case of statutory rape. Recently, the actress Whoopi Goldberg has been criticized for her comment that the Polanski case wasn’t one of “rape rape.” She clearly never read the trial transcripts. Though the director was ultimately only charged for unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor, this was not a situation of consensual sex.
When Geimer took the stand in 1977, she explained that Polanski coerced her into taking part of a Quaalude (a powerful sedative), drinking large amounts of champagne and undressing for him. He then forced himself upon her, though, according to her transcripts, she repeatedly begged him to stop. This isn’t a case of persecuting a man for a long-passed misdemeanor. Mr. Polanski perpetrated a violent sexual crime against a child, and time does not lessen this fact.
Ms. Geimer later sued him and they reached an out-of-court settlement. Since then, she has reportedly moved on with her life and forgiven her attacker. Geimer now lives in Hawaii with her family, and after three decades of unwanted publicity, she has said that she is against plans to bring him back for trial. In a 2003 interview with the Star Bulletin, she said that she doesn’t want any more legal action to take place, but she does wish that he “would return to America so the whole ordeal can be put to rest.” Though Ms. Geimer wants to put the matter behind her, the rule of law must uphold its obligations. The courts were legally and morally bound to apprehend him as a fugitive of justice.
Although incarcerating a 77-year-old man – who survived the Holocaust and lost his wife in a brutal murder no less – seems cruel, I cannot believe that excusing him because of his misfortunes is better. He was in his 40s and at the height of his fame when he brought Geimer to that Mulholland Drive mansion, gave her drugs and alcohol and forcibly raped her. To me, there is no excuse for his actions. Because Polanski hasn’t returned to resolve the case or offered any public show of contrition, I believe it is up to the courts to resolve the case by holding him to his long-avoided sentence. He committed a heinous act without any retribution. It is time to amend that failing.
The Los Angeles District Attorney’s office has a little less than 40 days to decide whether they wish to extradite and punish Polanski. In my opinion, it is their responsibility to take advantage of this opportunity to bring Polanski back to the U.S. As murky as the case is, I believe that the best way to serve justice is clear. Mr. Polanski must be held responsible for what he did.
Kara McVey is an undeclared freshman. She can be reached at mcvey@oxy.edu.
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