Another woman has alleged that disgraced film director Roman Polanski sexually assaulted her, bringing the total number of accusers to three, reports the New York Times.
Celebrity lawyer Gloria Allred is representing the new accuser, whose name is being identified as "Robin." They held a press conference on Tuesday, in which Robin stated that Polanski "sexually victimized" her. She specifically claimed that the alleged assault occurred when she was 16, in 1973. "I am speaking out now so that Samantha and the world will know that she is not the only minor Roman Polanski victimized," said Robin.
Allred has previously represented one of Polanski's other accusers: Charlotte Lewis, an English actress who contends that the director assaulted her in 1983, when she was 16 years old. Lewis said that she came forward to protest how Polanski's legal team was "portraying his previous offense against a minor as an isolated instance."
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Polanski was first accused of drugging and raping Samantha Geimer in in 1977 when she was 13. He pleaded guilty to unlawful sex with a minor as part of a plea agreement. Before his sentencing, he fled to Switzerland and France to avoid jail time and has not been extradited to the United States. Were he to return to the US, or travel to a country that would extradite him, he would face a prison sentence for his 1997 assault. Geimer has attempted to have the case dropped, citing damage to her family, and that request is currently working its way through the courts.
If you have experienced sexual violence and are in need of crisis support, please call the RAINN Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).