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Unsealed testimony says that the judge in the Roman Polanski sex case broke a promise

A former prosecutor said that a Los Angeles judge went back on his promise that he would not put Roman Polanski in jail for sexually abusing a teenage girl in 1977. This caused the famous director to leave the US years ago.

Former Deputy District Attorney Roger Gunson's testimony, which had been kept secret until now, showed that in 2010, the judge broke his promise to let Polanski go free after county probation and state prison officials said he shouldn't be locked up.

“The judge had promised him on two occasions … something that he reneged on,” Gunson said. “So it wasn’t surprising to me that, when he was told he was going to be sent off to state prison … that he could not or would not trust the judge.”

A California appeals court told the Los Angeles District Attorney's Office on Wednesday that the transcript of Gunson's testimony must be released to the public.

Polanski's lawyer said that his client was "ecstatic" about the new information because it supports Polanski's claim that he was not getting a fair deal in 1978 when he ran away before being sentenced.

Lawyer Harland Braun said on Monday that he wants Polanski to be given credit for time already spent because of a prison evaluation in 1977 and house arrest in Switzerland years later.

Braun said, "He's waiting to see what comes next." "This is his first real chance in this situation."

Braun said that Polanski, who is 88, shouldn't have to go to court to be sentenced. In the past, prosecutors have said no to this idea. Braun is afraid that if he goes back, he will be arrested because he is on the run.

In March 1977, Polanski was accused of forcing a 13-year-old girl to have sex with him after giving her champagne and part of a sedative. She told a grand jury that she didn't fight him because she was afraid, but her mother later called the police.

But the girl didn't want to talk in court, so Polanski pleaded guilty to having sexual contact with a minor without permission as long as the rape, sodomy, and drug charges were dropped.

The previously sealed testimony of former Deputy District Attorney Roger Gunson revealed that in 2010 the judge reneged on a promise to let Polanski go free.
The previously sealed testimony of former Deputy District Attorney Roger Gunson revealed that in 2010 the judge reneged on a promise to let Polanski go free.
AP

The Oscar-winning director was kicked out of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in 2018 because of the #MeToo movement. However, he has avoided legal trouble because France, Switzerland, and Poland have all turned down requests to send him to the US.

Braun said that the judge in the case, Laurence Rittenband, who has since died, was swayed by the attention the case got and kept changing his mind about how to punish Polanski.

Rittenband said that Polanski would not have to serve any more time in jail if he got a good report from the prison where he was sent for a 90-day evaluation after probation officials said he should.

Gunson said that Rittenband thought the reports from probation and prison officials were a "whitewash" after prison officials said he should only serve probation.

Gunson said that Rittenband could have given Polanski a longer prison sentence—Polanski could have gotten 50 years—but that he would let him out after 120 days. Gunson said he didn't agree with the judge's "sham" proceeding, even though he was willing to go on probation and prison officials played down the crimes.

“Roman says, ‘How can I trust the judge that’s lied twice?’ So he takes off to Europe,” Braun said.

Gunson's testimony was heard by Polanski's lawyers at the time, but they couldn't use it in court because it was sealed at the time.

Samantha Geimer, the person who was hurt, has fought in the past for the case to be thrown out or for Polanski to be sentenced without her being there.

“I implore you to consider taking action to finally bring this matter to a close as an act of mercy to myself and my family,” Geimer told a judge five years ago.

In 1993, Polanski agreed to pay Geimer $600,000 to end a court case.

Usually, prosecutors don't want to release sealed testimony, but this week they changed their minds because Geimer wanted the transcript to be made public.

“This case has been described by the courts as ‘one of the longest-running sagas in California criminal justice history,’” Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascón said in a statement. “For years, this office has fought the release of information that the victim and public have a right to know.”

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