Polanski victim asks court to dismiss case

AFP - The victim in the Roman Polanski sex case has called for charges against the director to be dismissed, court filings showed Monday.

Lawyers for Samantha Geimer, who was 13 when Polanski had sex with her in 1977, called for the dismissal in a court motion filed in Los Angeles on Friday.

The motion said Geimer, who now lives in Hawaii with her husband and children, had suffered health problems after being hounded by media since Polanski's arrest in Switzerland last month.

"Between Samantha and her counsel, they have received close to 500 telephone calls from media around the world seeking a comment," the motion filed with California's 2nd District Court of Appeal read.

"Larry King has called, Oprah has called, every national network morning show has called. The LA Times has three reporters calling, as do nearly every major newspaper in the United States and abroad," the motion added.

"The response -- 'please leave me alone.' But they won't leave her alone," it read.

The court filing said Geimer's mother, husband and children had all been "hounded" by journalists, affecting her health and her job.

"Calls at all hours, invade her at home, on her cell phone and at her place of employment," the filing said. "The victim is again the victim."

"The pursuit has caused her to have health-related issues. The pursuit has caused her performance at her job to be interfered with."

The pursuit of Geimer risked "the real possibility" she could lose her job, the motion said.