On Friday afternoon actress Charlotte Lewis held a press conference with attorney Gloria Allred, saying that when she was 16 years old Roman Polanski sexually victimized her, reports E! Online.

Lewis claims that the incident occurred in Paris at Polanski’s apartment, four years after the director left the United States—fleeing before he could be sentenced for his first known sex crime.

Lewis stated, “Mr. Polanski knew I was only 16 years old when he met me and forced himself upon me in his apartment in Paris,” continuing, “He took advantage of me, and I have lived with the effects of his behavior ever since it occurred.”  Lewis is now 42 years old.

Although the age of consent in France is 15 years old, what Lewis is alleging is that there was no consent involved—which, as you would expect, is very much illegal.

The timing for Lewis to step forward with these allegations comes as Polanski fights extradition to the U.S. where he would face sentencing for his first offence, which he has admitted to.  Lewis wants to make sure his alleged actions are taken into consideration for how Polanski will be depicted in court.

“The defense, for example, may wish to portray their client as a loving father, and a law-abiding citizen after he fled and failed to appear for his sentencing,” said Allred.

This new information suggests Polanski’s life after fleeing the U.S. wasn’t squeaky clean, and could have an effect on how he’s perceived.  Allred stated, “The judge, however, can also consider credible claims of predatory conduct after Mr. Polanski fled when determining the appropriate sentence for Mr. Polanski.”

Polanski resides in Switzerland and is under house arrest.

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In a weird twist of celebrity co-mingling, reality TV star Tila Tequila’s NFL boyfriend Shawn Merriman was arrested yesterday, according to TMZ.

Police were called to the home of San Diego Charger’s Merriman early this morning where Tila claimed he had choked her and restrained her from leaving the apartment. Tila was taken to hospital but no injuries reported.

Merriman was taken into custody with a bail set at $58,000.

His lawyer released a statement this morning saying Tila was extremely inebriated following a birthday party at Stingareer Nightclub in San Diego and Merriman did not want her to leave the house because he felt it was unsafe.

In a statement to FoxNewsSports.com, Merriman denied the allegations.

“There have been no charges filed against me. I want to thank the San Diego Sherrif’s Department for their professionalism,” read the statement. ”I will continue to cooperate fully with the Department, and I look forward to clearing my name regarding these false allegations. I want to put this behind me so I can continue to focus on a successful season for the San Diego Chargers.”

Tila has taken to Twitter to plead her case, saying she was not drunk because she is actually allergic to alcohol. Go figure.

“I am allergic to alcohol,” Tila said via Twitter. “It has been publicly known for years. That is how I got the name Tila “Tequila” cuz the irony. I cant drink.”

Tila has since returned to Los Angeles and no word on Merriman’s legal follow-up has been released.

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