Another alleged victim of Roman Polanski's sexually predatory conduct has come forward. Charlotte Lewis, of London England, who appeared in Roman Polanski's film, "Pirates", alleges that she was victimized by Mr. Polanski when she was 16 years old.
Mr. Polanksi had previously been charged with rape by use of drugs, perversion, sodomy, lewd and lascivious act upon a child under fourteen, and furnishing a controlled substance to a minor.
These charges have not yet been dismissed, but Mr. Polanksi entered a plea of engaging in unlawful intercourse with a minor, (a sexual crime against a child) and was scheduled to be sentenced on Feb 1, 1978. However, rather than appearing for sentencing, Mr. Polanski fled on that date. If Charlotte's allegations are accepted as true, than Mr. Polanski was able to victimize another child while he was a fugitive from justice. This means that Charlotte's allegations are relevant on the issue of sentencing. The defense , for example, may wish to portray their client as a loving father, and a law abiding citizen after he fled and failed to appear for his sentencing. The judge, however, can also consider credible claims of predatory conduct after Mr. Polanski fled when determining the appropriate sentence for Mr. Polanski. If the judge believes these claims it could certainly have an impact on the court's decision, especially if the judge believes that Mr. Polanski engaged in a similar modus operandi (M.O.) with Ms. Lewis.
Yesterday, Ms. Lewis and I met with a detective from the Los Angeles Police
Department and a high level Deputy District Attorney from The L.A. County
District Attorney's Office to provide details of what Ms. Lewis suffered as a result
of Mr. Polanski's conduct with her.
Even though Charlotte was afraid to report her allegations to law enforcement
at the time the incident allegedly occurred (for reasons common to many victims)
she did present fresh complaint evidence to law enforcement and it is in their
possession. Charlotte is also ready to testify under oath if as and when that would
ever be necessary in the legal process.
If Mr. Polanski thought that the sentence he was about to receive for the crime he committed against a child was unfair he could have withdrawn his plea. Instead of doing that , however, he chose to flee from the criminal justice system. To make matters worse, if he took advantage of another very vulnerable young victim after making his escape and avoiding the imposition of legal consequences, than he needs to face justice now for what he has done in the past.
If the court believes and gives weight to Charlotte's allegations, then Mr. Polanski deserves no compassion for the commission of his original crime to which he entered a plea, and no compassion for his age or the number of years that have passed since that crime was committed.
I hope that Charlotte's example of courage in coming forward will empower and encourage others who may have been victimized by Mr. Polanski to also come
forward and report their experiences to the law enforcement or me. Charlotte and I
commend L.A. County District Attorney, Steve Cooley, for pursuing justice in the
case of Roman Polanski. Accountability for a crime against a child has no time limit
and the pursuit of Mr. Polanski sends an important message to others. That message
appears to be - don't flee or law enforcement will come after you. Even if you are
rich, famous and powerful, if you become a fugitive from justice you will not get a
pass because no one is above the law.
I am honored to represent Charlotte, who is very brave and who contacted me
for assistance to make sure that what she suffered at the hands of Mr. Polanski
would be taken into account in the criminal justice system.
I believe that the sentencing judge needs this information to make an informed decision and we look forward to continuing to cooperate with law enforcement in the pursuit of Mr. Polanski, a man who is both a sexual predator and a fugitive from justice.
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