Key testimony in 1977 Roman Polanski case may be unsealed
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The Los Angeles County district attorney has agreed that key testimony in the sexual abuse case of disgraced director Roman Polanski should be unsealed.
District Attorney George Gascón has asked a state appeals court to unseal the testimony of former Deputy District Attorney Roger Gunson, who led Polanski's prosecution and answered questions under oath about the case in 2009, the Los Angeles Times reports.
Polanski has been accused of drugging and raping a 13 year old girl. He pleaded guilty in 1977 to unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor as part of a plea deal and went to prison for an evaluation for 42 days. But before a judge could send him back to prison, the director fled the United States to France, where he remains a fugitive.
Polanski's team has long requested that Gunson's testimony be unsealed, claiming it will show misconduct by the judge and lead to his case being dismissed, The Hollywood Reporter notes. But a previous request to unseal the transcripts was denied.
"For years, this office has fought the release of information that the victim and public have a right to know," Gascón said, adding that it has now concluded it's "in the interest of justice to agree to the unsealing of these transcripts."
Samantha Geimer, Polanski's alleged victim, also wanted the testimony to be made public, saying that "I believe as the victim in this case I deserve to know the whole truth."
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