Roman Polanski Agreed to $500,000 Penance After Skipping Town

Fri., Oct. 2, 2009 5:01 PM PDT by Natalie Finn

Jean Baptiste Lacroix/Getty Images, Bryan Bedder/Getty Images

Roman Polanski may not have been much of a gentleman, but at least he had deep pockets.

Court records show that the Chinatown director agreed to pay the victim of his injudicious liaison $500,000 in 1993, 15 years after he had fled the country to avoid being sentenced for having unlawful intercourse with a minor.

But it's unclear whether Polanski ever made good on the settlement, which was agreed to in 1993 after Geimer sued him for sexual assault, false imprisonment, intentional infliction of emotional distress and—who knew this was a legal term—seduction.

Polanski had until 1995 to pay the full amount but missed the deadline, according to court documents pertaining to the 20-year-old civil suit—which, of course, has new relevance now that Polanski has been arrested for his 32-year-old crime.

Per the various court filings, Polanski still owed Geimer the full sum, plus more than $100,000 in interest, in August 1996.

The filmmaker's attorney, David Finkle, declined to comment.

"I have been advised by my attorney not to make any comments at this time, so I currently have no comment on his arrest," Geimer told the Awful Truth yesterday. "I can, however, tell you that I have reporters parked outside my home, harassing my family and neighbors, and it is extremely unpleasant."

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Polanski isn't alone. All sorts of celebs have been in trouble with the law, as seen in our Guilty Gallery.