MAP Forum

PorcelainLark wrote: Wed Jun 25, 2025 2:02 pm Just to be clear about the accusations in this case:

Geimer testified that Polanski provided champagne that they shared as well as part of a Quaalude, and despite her protests, he performed oral sex on her, and penetrated her both vaginally and anally, each time after being told "no" and being asked to stop.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_Pol ... #Rape_case

It wasn't an example of AMSC where the minor assented.

This may sound cavalier, but it is true: If I had to choose between
reliving the rape or the grand jury testimony, I would choose the rape.

And should he come back? I have to imagine he would rather not be a fugitive and be able to travel freely. Personally, I would like to see that happen. He never should have been put in the position that led him to flee. He should have received a sentence of time served 25 years ago, just as we all agreed. At that time, my lawyer, Lawrence Silver, wrote to the judge that the plea agreement should be accepted and that that guilty plea would be sufficient contrition to satisfy us. I have not changed my mind. [I know there is a price to pay for running.[/b] But who wouldn’t think about running when facing a 50-year sentence from a judge who was clearly more interested in his own reputation than a fair judgment or even the well-being of the victim?

There is even, as we parents say, a teachable moment. We have what I think of as a Victim Industry in this country, an industry populated by Nancy Grace and Dr. Phil and Gloria Allred and all those who make money by manufacturing outrage. I’ve been part of it. If you spent years reading about yourself in the papers with the moniker “Sex Victim Girl,” you’d have a lot to say about this issue, too. But for now I’ll leave it at this: It is wrong to ask people to feel like victims, because once they do, they feel like victims in every area of their lives. I made a decision: I wasn’t going to be a victim of anyone or for anyone. Not Roman, not the state of California, not the media. I wasn’t going to be defined by what is said about me or expected from
me. I was going to tell my story, my truth, through nobody else’s perspective but my own

CynicalOptimist wrote: Thu Jun 26, 2025 9:09 am

PorcelainLark wrote: Wed Jun 25, 2025 2:02 pm Just to be clear about the accusations in this case:

Geimer testified that Polanski provided champagne that they shared as well as part of a Quaalude, and despite her protests, he performed oral sex on her, and penetrated her both vaginally and anally, each time after being told "no" and being asked to stop.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_Pol ... #Rape_case

It wasn't an example of AMSC where the minor assented.

All of this is true and comes from her grand jury testimony. However, it’s worth noting that she stated in her book that testifying before the grand jury was a worse experience for her than the rape itself:

This may sound cavalier, but it is true: If I had to choose between
reliving the rape or the grand jury testimony, I would choose the rape.

Geimer wanted Polanski to be punished in proportion to the harm he had caused, and she hoped he would accept a plea bargain that would have allowed him to be released based on the time he had already served. However, the hysterical judge wanted to ruin Polanski’s life and refused to let him accept the plea bargain.

In her book, Geimer stated that she understands Polanski’s decision to flee the country:

And should he come back? I have to imagine he would rather not be a fugitive and be able to travel freely. Personally, I would like to see that happen. He never should have been put in the position that led him to flee. He should have received a sentence of time served 25 years ago, just as we all agreed. At that time, my lawyer, Lawrence Silver, wrote to the judge that the plea agreement should be accepted and that that guilty plea would be sufficient contrition to satisfy us. I have not changed my mind. [I know there is a price to pay for running.[/b] But who wouldn’t think about running when facing a 50-year sentence from a judge who was clearly more interested in his own reputation than a fair judgment or even the well-being of the victim?

My impression of Samantha Geimer is that she is a remarkably honest and fair person who has refused to let a desire for revenge or society’s exaggerated outrage cloud her judgment about what happened. She refuses to identify as a perpetual victim, even though society wants her to.

From her book:

There is even, as we parents say, a teachable moment. We have what I think of as a Victim Industry in this country, an industry populated by Nancy Grace and Dr. Phil and Gloria Allred and all those who make money by manufacturing outrage. I’ve been part of it. If you spent years reading about yourself in the papers with the moniker “Sex Victim Girl,” you’d have a lot to say about this issue, too. But for now I’ll leave it at this: It is wrong to ask people to feel like victims, because once they do, they feel like victims in every area of their lives. I made a decision: I wasn’t going to be a victim of anyone or for anyone. Not Roman, not the state of California, not the media. I wasn’t going to be defined by what is said about me or expected from
me. I was going to tell my story, my truth, through nobody else’s perspective but my own