Jean Baptiste Lacroix/Getty Images, Bryan Bedder/Getty ImagesHollywood is fiercely divided yet again regarding Roman Polanski's 1977 rape of Samantha Geimer, who was 13 at the time. Polanski was 44.
According to court transcripts, Sharon Tate's widower not only forced himself on the teenager, sexually, but he had also drugged her and plied her with champagne. Nice one, Roman! Geimer later settled a civil suit with the notorious director, who fled the country after deciding (probably accurately) that the U.S. court system was set against him.
Geimer has since made it plain on numerous occasions that she feels the charges against her attacker should be dropped.
Thus, stars such as Woody Allen (who has a questionable, at best, relationship with young women) and Martin Scorsese cry for Polanski's freedom, while human rights-oriented celebs such as Kirstie Alley scream for the exact opposite.
But what does Samantha say?
"I have been advised by my attorney not to make any comments at this time, so I currently have no comment on his arrest," Samantha, a still most attractive woman and mom to three kids, tells me exclusively from her home in Hawaii.
She adds: "I can, however, tell you that I have reporters parked outside my home, harassing my family and neighbors, and it is extremely unpleasant."
This is precisely why Polanski needs to turn himself in to U.S. officials and resolve the ancient case. Not only has his (perhaps understandable) fleeing left the impression that he doesn't take American judicial treatment of underage rape victims seriously, he's causing Geimer herself to relive the pain over and over again. As in, every time the Oscar-winning director pulls one of his little globe-trotting escapes that keeps his still-existent arrest warrant alive.
Do the right thing, Polanski: Turn yourself in. You owe it not only to your victim—regardless how much money you paid her off with—but all the others in this world, as well.
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See which stars have been put behind bars in our Guilty Gallery!