Roman Polanski: announced the date of the sentence for defamation

The French-Polish director is accused of libel by Charlotte Lewis. The British actress also accuses him of sexually abusing her when he was 16.

Accused of rape for 45 years, he was soon before the judges, but for facts related to these accusations. According to AFP, Roman Polanski will be tried for libel by the Criminal Court of Paris on March 5, 2024. The 89-year-old director is on trial for questioning the veracity of allegations of sexual abuse leveled against him by Charlotte Lewis .

1999, the discord interview

It is a story in several chapters. In 1999, an interview with Charlotte Lewis, who starred in the film Piratesdirected by Polanski in 1986, it appeared in the tabloid World news. ” I knew that Roman had done something wrong in the States, but I wanted to be his mistress. […]. I probably wanted him more than he did,” the British actress said. In 2010, when he accused the screenwriter of having ” sexually abused in the early 80s, when he was only 16, denies the comments posted in this interview. “ Many of the quotes attributed to me in the News of the World article are not accurate “, he then says.

2019, the year of defamation

Nine years later the defamation chapter begins. In 2019, despite Charlotte Lewis’s denial of her remarks in World newsRoman Polanski relies on this same interview to defend the argument that his accuser contradicts herself. Asked by Paris match, he later declared: “You see, the first quality of a good liar is an excellent memory. Charlotte Lewis is always mentioned in my list of accusers without ever pointing out her contradictions. » Neither one nor two, in March 2020 Charlotte Lewis filed a defamation lawsuit against the director with civil action. ” In press law, referral to the judge is almost automatic in such proceedings and the merits of the allegations are examined at the hearing. “, specifies the AFP. In other words, the decision to try Polanski calls for a common procedure.

To date, 12 women are accusing Roman Polanski of rape or sexual assault, but the facts they report are all prescribed. On the other hand, the director is still on trial in the United States for the rape of Samantha Geimer, who filed a complaint against him in 1977.