Roman Polanski accused of raping teenager in 1975

A French woman in her early 60s claims she was raped as a teenager by film-maker Roman Polanski, according to reports in the French media.

The Oscar-winning director has been a fugitive from the US for more than four decades since pleading guilty to a sex offence.

Le Parisien reported that the woman alleges she was raped in 1975 at Polanski's chalet in Gstaad, Switzerland, when she was 18.

It quotes Polanski’s lawyer, Hervé Temime, as saying that Polanski “firmly contests” the allegation.

The attorney "deplored" that the claim was being made public shortly before Polanski's latest film, J'Accuse, is being released in France.

Le Parisien quotes the woman as saying the film triggered her decision to go public.

Polanski pleaded guilty in the US in 1977 to having sex with a 13-year-old. – AP