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Swiss investigate new Polanski rape charge

Roman Polanski at the Zurich Film Festival
Polanski attended this year's Zurich Film Festival Keystone

Police in Switzerland say they are investigating new rape allegations against the French-Polish film-maker Roman Polanski.

A spokesman confirmed that a German-born actress and model filed a complaint last month, alleging that Polanksi assaulted her in the Swiss mountain resort of Gstaad in 1972. It is not clear if criminal charges will be filed.

This is the fourth woman to publicly accuse Polanksi of rape. She decided to approach police because of another case that came to light in Los Angeles last August, according to a report in the New York Times.

Contacted by the Reuters news agency, Polanski’s lawyer Jan Olszewski spoke of an “absurd situation.” The woman’s approach after more than forty years has above all the goal of generating media attention, he said. 

The victim, Renate Langer, was 15 at the time and had apparently applied for a role in a film by the acclaimed director.

Polanski, who is 84, has so far only admitted to sexual intercourse with a minor as part of a plea bargain in 1977 in the United States.

In 2009, Polanski was detained in Switzerland following a warrant by the US justice authorities to extradite him. He was put under house arrest for ten months before he was released.

swissinfo.ch and agencies/ug

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