Inspired by the outpouring of women who have spoken out against Harvey Weinstein’s decades-long history of sexual abuse and harassment, the artist Marianne Barnard has come forward to accuse Roman Polanksi of molesting her when she was 10 years old. Recounting her disturbing story to The Sun, Barnard alleges that the sexual abuse occurred in California in 1975, when her mother took her to the beach to get photographs taken by Polanski. “At first I had the understanding I was just going to the beach with my mom. We were there for a little while by ourselves and then he was there,†she said. “And she explained that this man wanted to take pictures of me in this fur coat. I thought it was to go into a magazine or something.†Barnard, although also wearing a bikini for the shoot, wasn’t initially alarmed by the situation, as she modeled previously as a child and didn’t think anything was out of the ordinary. But that soon changed when her mother stepped away.
“First he was taking pictures of me in the bikini, then it was with the coat then he said take off the bikini top, which I was comfortable with as I was only 10 and I often ran around with no top on,†she continued. “But then he wanted me to take my bikini bottoms off — I started to feel very uncomfortable. Then at some point I realized my mom had gone. I don’t know where she went and I didn’t really register her leaving but she was no longer there. Then he molested me.†Barnard has suffered from PTSD and claustrophobia ever since the molestation occurred, only choosing to open up about her experience now due to the women “bravely coming forward†with their stories of abuse in Hollywood. Polanski has yet to comment on these claims.