Model Says Roman Polanski Raped Her As Teen In 1972
A former German actress and model has told Swiss authorities that film director Roman Polanski raped her at his mountain chalet in 1972 when she was 15 years old, local prosecutors said on Wednesday.
A lawyer for the 84-year-old French-Polish film director said he was aware of the allegation by Renate Langer and he dismissed it as an “absurd” attempt to generate media attention.
Police in the northeastern Swiss canton of St. Gallen confirmed on Wednesday they had received a complaint from Langer, 61, last month about an alleged rape in Polanski’s house in 1972. The New York Times first reported the allegation.
Efforts by Reuters in Germany to contact the former actress or her lawyers were not immediately successful.
Swiss prosecutors were being asked to consider whether prosecution of Polanski was possible under Swiss law given the alleged crime occurred nearly a half century ago.
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.
Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.
At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and the protests on college campuses.
Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.