France court upholds Polanski acquittal in defamation case

A French appeals court Wednesday confirmed the acquittal of French-Polish filmmaker Roman Polanski in a defamation case in which British actor Charlotte Lewis accused him of libel after she claimed he had raped her.

The Paris court confirmed the ruling of a lower court in May that found Polanski, 91, not guilty of defaming Lewis, 57, who alleges he raped her in Paris when she was 16.

The May verdict related strictly to the charge of defamation and not the actor's rape accusation against Polanski.

Lewis appealed the decision, but the prosecution did not follow suit.

Roman Polanski 1970s sexual assault lawsuit dismissed: lawyer (Loic Venance/AFP/AFP)

The appeals court also decided that Polanski had not committed a breach of civil duty and, therefore, did not owe Lewis any damages.

Lawyer Benjamin Chouai, who has represented Lewis, described the ruling as "very questionable."

"It gives Roman Polanski a sort of license to kill via the media," he said.

"He is being allowed to defame, discredit, tarnish. He will likely continue to do this against Charlotte Lewis and the other women," Chouai added.

Polanski is wanted in the United States over the rape of a 13-year-old in 1977 and faces several other accusations of sexual assault dating back decades and past the statute of limitations -- all claims he has rejected.