Samantha Geimer, the woman who Roman Polanski raped when she was only 13-years-old, wants all charges against him to be dropped.
Geimer basically wants the entire thing to go away. She is now a mother of three children, a wife and a daughter and she says the attention that the media has brought her has done nothing but put a major strain on her family.
But does he deserve to be freed because she says so? Remember what he did really was disgusting..
In 1977, Polanski lured the 13-year-old aspiring model Geimer into Nicholson’s home for a photo shoot, where he gave her champagne and prescription drugs. Despite her requests to be taken home, Polanski then took nude photos of her in a hot tub and had sex with her. He later pleaded guilty to having sex with a minor.
Geimer says since Polanski’s arrest she has been bombarded by the media, having received more than 500 calls. She’s been offered spots on Larry King Live and even Oprah. But she isn’t interested. She wants to move on with her life, and understandably so. As a victim, how long can you act like one? She’s moved on long ago and the media should respect her wishes and leave her be.
In 1997 Geimer told People magazine: “[He] did something really gross to me, but it was the media that ruined my life.” It seems that is still the case, all these years later.
Geimer has asked a Los Angeles judge to dismiss the charges against Polanski, not only citing the disruption of her personal life, but her career as well. Her filing reads: “The pursuit has caused her to have health-related issues . . . caused her performance at her job to be interfered with and has caused the understandable displeasure of her employer and the real possibility that Samantha could lose her job.”
Although I truly feel for this woman, I am just not sure that he deserves to get off so easy. This guy preyed on young woman all the time back then. After this particular incident where he was busted, he fled like a little coward and continued to live like one the next 30+ years. If that doesn’t scream “guilty” I’m not sure what does.
Do you think Roman should get off and it should be swept under the rug for the sake of the victim, or do you think Roman still needs to face up to the crime he committed all those years ago?
[Top: Samantha Geimer, then and now]
I’m all for people being punished for the things they do wrong, but I think people forget that he actually served time and was guaranteed no prison time. The prosecutor then wanted to scare him and said maybe I’ll go for jail time and then Polanski ran.
He served the sentence that was decreed by the court.
Sorry trish, but bullshit. He wasn’t sentenced when he ran. He was scared that he was going to get more time than what was stated in his plea bargin, so he ran away like a little bitch. Nevermind the fact that if he would have actually stuck around for sentencing, he could have withdrawn his plea if he felt it was “unfair”. He ran, like the coward that he is, knowing that France would never extraite him.
And as far as Geimer goes, of course she wants the charges dropped, she got a shit load of money from Polanski. She brought all the media attention on herself years ago, but now it’s a problem?
Polanski is a rat and I loath the people who defend him. However the reason I despise him is what he did to Samantha Geimer. I can totally understand why she wants this to go away after so much time and frankly much as I hate the notion of Polanski getting a ‘free ride’, if *she*, the true victim, just wants it all to go away, I think that is what should happen.
Actually, she never got any money from him. She was awarded money, yes… but he never actually paid her what he owes her.
Victims do not, and should not, determine the punishment for their rapists. I understand her desire for privacy, but she should understand the message she is sending to every single person, man or woman, who’s been raped.
Criminals are punished based on their acts against not only their victims, but their cities and states, and he not only violated her, he violated the laws of this country. As such, he needs to be held accountable.
I hope he rots in prison.
He has shown no remorse. He has continually done interviews where he states that he doesn’t understand what the big deal is. That America is just a prudish country and we should get over ourselves and realize that everyone else is doing it.
Throw his ass in jail and throw away the key. Leave him with only memories of the years he’s spent hiding while he finally faces the true reality of what he did.
I’m totally on board with him getting his comeuppance! While I understand Samantha wants it dropped, it’s like Amy says, it’s not her decision to make, nor should it be. He committed a crime against her, for which she was awarded damages in her civil suit (though he hasn’t paid up!), but her wishes are not the determining factor in whether he is tried or not.
And you really believe he hasn’t paid her, yet she’s advocating dropping all charges against him? I don’t. Just because payment wasn’t made through the courts doesn’t mean it wasn’t made. Has it ever occured to anyone that a backroom deal was made between the two parties? You know, I give you money, you say you want the charges dropped. It looks genuine if no cash changes hands.
Sorry if this sounds so “conspiricy theory”, but I’m a rape survivor and volunteer at a crisis center, so from personal experience, I have a VERY hard time listening to or believing a word this woman says.
It very likely is a public relations deal between Polanski and forgiving victim Geimer. Nevertheless, Polanski’s crime was committed against a defenseless minor who at the time begged for it to stop. His crime was not committed against an adult who now has her own children; it was against a child. Any arrogant pedophile who rapes a child must be held accountable for his deliberate actions. This crime shatters and continues to destroy countless children’s lives and their loved-ones’ lives. For the sake of all children’s protection we can’t turn a blind eye to any of it. Especially not one that is in huge public view for all the world to see. People need to only imagine what it would do to them if they suffered as a victim of this kind of rape and saw that people were willing to drop the charges. Child rape is wrong and should be dealt with dilligently, not half-heartedly.
JJ:
WHY do you have to refer to Samantha Geimer as “this woman”? As a survivor and volunteer, how would you feel if someone had the audacity to say that you “brought all the media attention on yourself?”
Frankly, I don’t think that it is your place to “believe a word that this woman says,” and from my own experience, it’s exactly that kind of attitude that makes victims of abuse unwilling to come forward – they are afraid that they won’t be believed, or that they will be judged, or that every bit of their story will be trotted out in public. Plus, in Geimer’s case, ‘public’ means her boss, her co-workers, the dude who rings up her groceries, or every random reader of Celebrity Smack!
I could care less if you decide to trash Polanski, and I believe he should be held accountable, but as a survivor and volunteer, please remember that Samantha Geimer should have your support, not your judgement.
- K*
K*- So, I’m not allowed to have an opinion? Isn’t that exactly what your statement is, your opinion? Anyways, to answer your questions: I refer to her as “that woman” because I have lost all sympathy for her. I cannot understand how a woman who went through what she went through not only publicly defending her rapist, but asking that he not be held accountable for his actions against a young girl. I wonder if she would be of the same opinion if something like this happened to a girl in her family. SHE was the one who put herself out there publicly and is now whining that the publicity is too much. Just another case of wanting it all, but not willing to deal with the repercussions. As far as my story goes, I never went public with my name, and my story was a pretty big one in my state. So I have no media attention on myself, even when the “anniversary”, using the media’s term, of the ordeal comes up and the media here makes a fuss about it. However, if I did decide to go public, that would be my choice and I would have to deal with all the attention that comes with my decision. As far as my attitude towards her being a reason that so many victims are unwilling to report their abuse, that’s just an idotic statement, in my opinion. My reactions to her whining about a situation created by herself (the media) are completly different than my reactions to her assault.
JJ:
“My reactions to her whining about a situation created by herself (the media) are completly different than my reactions to her assault.”
Point taken.
But on the other hand its not like she has been a media constant for for the past 30 years — It seems that its only because Polanski was extradited that the publicity has started again.
You seem more angry at her than you are with Polanski.
I am angry at her. I think that since SHE went public with her name and image, she has a resonsibility to all other victims/survivors. That may seem unfair, but she’s giving the impression that since the crime occured so long ago, that its ok that her attacker was never brought to justice. From first hand experience, that’s one of the most important things in being able to move on from victim to survivor.
As far as Polanski goes, there are no words to discribe how much I despise him and also ALL of his defenders. He’s a child rapist who ran away like a little bitch instead of being a man and facing the consequences of his actions. He has never once shown an iota of remorse, and is still to this day defending what he did as ok. To me, that means he’d do it again (who’s to say he hasn’t), which is why he needs to be punished for what he did.
That being said, you’re right that she seems to be in the spotlight alot more since he was arrested, but that is because, once again, she put herself there years ago by going public. Another reason she is such an interest to people is because of her stance on the charges against him. Look at the discussion we’re having.
Do I think all of the attention being focused on her is fair? No, but I think some of the responsibility falls an her.
JJ
Well, I have to say you’ve changed my mind (doesn’t happen often!) I’ll certainly read future articles about Geimer/Polanski in a different way.
What makes me upset is that he likely did this over and over, and will never be held accountable for his behavior.
K*-
I’m just glad that you read my opinions with an open mind. It was not my intention to change anyone’s own opinions, however, it’s nice to know that my personal opinions are thought provoking. I don’t comment very often, but I am an everyday reader. Hopefully we can have another discussion some day, as it was nice trading thoughts with someone who didn’t personally attack me for having different views
JJ –
“Hopefully we can have another discussion some day, as it was nice trading thoughts with someone who didn’t personally attack me for having different views”
I agree
- K*