Polanski pleaded guilty in 1977 to one count of unlawful intercourse with a 13-year-old girl. He fled the country to France ahead of a sentencing hearing and remains a fugitive.
CNN has reached out to its rep for comment.
In 2014, Samantha Geimer, the victim in the case, asked the court to unseal the transcripts of then-Deputy District Attorney Roger Gunson’s deposition and investigate alleged miscarriages of justice. Geimer has been notified of the court’s decision, the district attorney’s office said.
“My request has been repeatedly denied. I have been told that Mr. Polanski must surrender to US authorities to have the misconduct in this matter investigated. In addition, the testimony must remain sealed unless there is an investigation. I believe this answer is misleading,” Geimer wrote to the Los Angeles district attorney’s office last month as she pushed for disclosure.
“This case has been described by the courts as ‘one of the longest sagas in California criminal justice history,'” Gascón said in a statement Tuesday. information that the victim and the public have a right to know. After careful consideration of the victim’s wishes, the unique and extraordinary circumstances that led to his conditional review, and my commitment to transparency and accountability for all in the justice system, my office has determined that he is in the interest of justice to accept the unsealing of these transcripts.”
In a 2010 interview with CNN, Geimer said she didn’t want to deal with the media circus surrounding the director if he ever had to return to the United States and she believed the judge in the Polanski case had been dishonest with him.
“We are pleased that the appeals court has agreed with the victim and our office on the need for transparency,” Gascón said in response to the ruling. “The court’s decision has helped us live up to our responsibility to tell the truth to the public and to listen to survivors. We hope this gives her a little reassurance that she can eventually bring this decades-long litigation to an end.” . .”
The office does not know when or how quickly the court will unseal the documents.
The district attorney said Tuesday he would no longer object to the release of the transcripts and filed a motion with the court asking for their release.
“Gunson’s deposition was effectively a post-plea evidentiary hearing on judicial and prosecutorial misconduct – rather than a conditional examination to preserve the testimony of a victim or witness for trial – and the issues security guards frequently present in cases where conditional interrogations are used are not present in this case,” Gascón said in his filing. “Thus, the transcript should be unsealed.”
CNN has sought comment from Gunson.