Roman Polanski 'working on' legal response to French actor's rape accusation

Roman Polanski is considering legal action in response to a new rape accusation made against him by a French photographer and former actor.

His lawyer Hervé Temime told AFP in a statement: “We are working on the legal action to bring against this publication” – an apparent reference to Le Parisien, the French newspaper that published the allegations on Friday.

Valentine Monnier, a French photographer and former actor, alleges that Polanski raped her in 1975 when she was 18 years old at his chalet in Gstaad, Switzerland.

“I didn’t have any link with him – not personal, not professional, and I barely knew him,” Monnier said in a letter published by Le Parisien.

“This wasn’t during a party (no alcohol, no drugs). It was extremely violent, after skiing, in his cabin in Gstaad.

“He hit me, he beat me until I surrendered, then he raped me, inflicting upon me all the vicissitudes.

“I had just turned 18 and my first relationship had been just a few months ago. I thought I was dying.”

Temime told Le Parisien that Polanski ”firmly contests any rape accusation”.

The attorney “deplored” that Monnier’s allegations were made public the day before the release of Polanski’s new film, An Officer and a Spy.

Monnier told Le Parisien that the film’s release was what prompted her to speak out.

Le Parisien spoke to several of Monnier’s loved ones as well as a man identified as Charles, who echoed her allegations.

Polanski pleaded guilty in 1977 to unlawful sex with a minor and has been a fugitive from the US for four decades.

The Independent has contacted representatives for Polanski and Le Parisien for further comment.