Polanski’s victim wants court to drop charges

The extradition case against the fugitive film director Roman Polanski was thrown into confusion yesterday when the woman he had unlawful sex with 32 years ago, Samantha Geimer, made it clear she wants to play no part in his return to America to face justice.

Geimer, who was 13 years old when Polanski gave her drugs at the Hollywood home of Jack Nicholson during a photo-shoot and then had sex with her, filed a court request in Los Angeles that all charges against Polanski be dropped.

She said she had been besieged by the media as a result of the filmmaker's arrest in Zurich last month, and that the harassment had affected her health and was causing problems at work, to the extent that she feared she might lose her job.

Not only had she been stalked by reporters in Hawaii where she now lives, but she had been inundated by requests to appear on shows such as Larry King Live and Oprah. Despite repeatedly saying that she long ago forgave Polanski, and wanted to get on with her life, the requests have kept coming.

The court filing, which asked California's 2nd District Court of Appeal to rule on a previous motion to dismiss the charges against Polanski, concluded with the simple request: "Leave her alone".

When the sex case first came to light more than 30 years ago, Polanski was accused of rape. This was later downgraded to a charge of unlawful sex. The filmmaker, then best known for Chinatown which starred Nicholson, was facing sentencing when he took the decision to flee to France where his joint citizenship would protect him from extradition. He has lived in Paris as a fugitive ever since.

He was arrested on September 26 when he flew to Switzerland to collect a lifetime achievement award at the Zurich Film Festival. It has emerged in recent days that the Swiss tipped off US authorities about his visit. Last Friday, the US embassy in Bern formally submitted an extradition request. It is not yet clear whether Geimer's request will have any effect on the Swiss response, which has to be made within 40 days.

In 1988, when she was 25, Geimer sued Polanski, as a result of which he agreed to pay her $500,000. It is not known whether he ever paid the money - but many believe that her insistence that both she and Polanski be allowed to live their lives in peace suggests that he did. ·