Roman Polanski settles underage rape case, avoids trial

Roman Polanski has settled an underage rape case that was set to go to trial next year.
The civil lawsuit was originally filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court in June 2023, but the plaintiff’s attorney Gloria Allred confirmed to USA TODAY on Wednesday that the case was settled over the summer with the director, now 91. The trial was set to begin in August 2025.
She said that “a settlement of claims was agreed to by the parties to their mutual satisfaction.” The director’s attorney Alexander Rufus-Isaacs gave a similar statement to the Agence France-Presse per The Guardian.
USA TODAY reached out to Rufus-Isaacs for comment.
The accuser was seeking a combination of “non-economic” and “special” damages as compensation for her claims, to cover “past, present and future lost earnings, economic damages and others,” according to the complaint.
Need a break? Play the USA TODAY Daily Crossword Puzzle.
“It took me a really long time to decide to file this suit against Mr. Polanski, but I finally did make that decision,” the woman said during a press conference in March, per the AP. “I want to file it to obtain justice and accountability.”
Roman Polanski civil trial over alleged1973 rape of girl is set for 2025
The trial was set to center on an alleged incident from 1973, where the woman said she went out for dinner with Polanski after meeting the director at a party on a previous occasion, according to a copy of the lawsuit obtained by USA TODAY. The woman’s age at the time of her interactions with Polanski is not disclosed in the complaint, though it’s stated she was “a minor.”
The woman claimed she first met up with Polanski at his Benedict Canyon home in Los Angeles. Polanski then allegedly gave her two shots of tequila to drink, per the lawsuit.When Polanski and the alleged accuser arrived at the restaurant for their date, the pair’s table was not ready for them, according to the filing. She and Polanski sat themselves at the bar, where Polanski allegedly ordered her more tequila. The lawsuit claimed her drove her back to his house where she felt ill from the tequila. The woman claims she recalls being led by Polanski into his bedroom and passing out on his bed.
The woman also claims in the complaint that she woke up in Polanski’s bed with the director lying next to her. The director allegedly told the woman he “wanted to have sex with her,” which she did not want, and he subsequently took off her clothes and raped her, according to the lawsuit.
The director was accused of unlawful sexual intercourse with a 13-year-old girl in 1977, and pleaded guilty to one count.
After pleading guilty, Polanski was about to be sentenced when he fled the country in 1978, alleging that the judge in his case, who has since died, planned to impose a harsh sentence despite a plea agreement. 
Roman Polanski rape casenearing an end? California court orders key document unsealed
Multiple attempts to extradite Polanski from European countries subsequently failed. He went on to win an Oscar (in 2003) but has been unable to return to the United States ever since he fled. Because of extradition treaties, he’s been confined to France, where he mostly lives, Switzerland and Poland, where he was born. 
Contributing: Edward Segarra, Maria Puente