Roman Polanski's film, The Pianist, is up for several Academy Awards. Polanski has been in France the past 25 years due to an outstanding sexual assault case against him dating back to 1977. He and the prosecution had agreed to time served. He pleaded guilty, but before sentencing, the Judge informed the parties that he was unlikely to accept the agreement and might give Polanski 50 years. Polanski fled to Europe. The victim of the assault was 13 at the time.

She is now 38 and living in Hawaii with her husband and children. And she wants the Academy to disregard Polanski's past actions in deciding who gets the Oscar.

She also wants Polanski to be able to return to the U.S. for the ceremony. The LA District Attorney says no way. Polanski says he won't come back.

Samantha Geimer, now 38 and living in Hawaii with her husband and three sons, made her plea in an article in the Los Angeles Times in which she urged academy voters to choose Polanski and his film, The Pianist, as Oscar winners despite his crimes. She said that what the Polish director did to her 25 years ago should not affect their judgment.

Geimer was 13 when Polanski, then 44, told her mother he wanted to take pictures of her for a French magazine at a photo session in Los Angeles. He gave her champagne and a drug that causes drowsiness, then had sex with her at a house on Mulholland Drive in Los Angeles.....

"I believe that Mr Polanski and his film should be honoured according to the quality of the work," wrote Geimer. "What he does for a living and how good he is at it have nothing to do with me or what he did to me. I think academy members should vote for the movies they feel deserve it. Not the people they feel are popular."

She added: "I don't have any hard feelings toward him, or any sympathy either. He is a stranger to me."

Geimer also said Polanksi should be allowed to return to the US because the longer he remained a fugitive, the longer she had to deal with the issue.