Roman Polanski arrested in 1970s sex case

[troubleluvsme]

It's about f***ing time.


http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/28/movies/28polanski.html?em

LOS ANGELES — In a surprising move arranged by prosecutors in Los Angeles and Washington, the authorities in Switzerland arrested the film director Roman Polanski late Saturday as he arrived at the Zurich airport, paving the way for his possible extradition to the United States in connection with a 32-year-old sex case.

Mr. Polanski, 76, a French citizen, was detained as he arrived to receive an award at the Zurich Film Festival. Although he is expected to oppose extradition, the arrest raised a strong possibility that Mr. Polanski would be returned to the United States to face sentencing under his conviction for having had sex with a 13-year-old girl in 1977.

 

[Theo]

It's about f***ing time.


http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/28/movies/28polanski.html?em
Although he is expected to oppose extradition, the arrest raised a strong possibility that Mr. Polanski would be returned to the United States to face sentencing under his conviction for having had sex with a 13-year-old girl in 1977.

He didn't just "have sex" with a 13 year old. Please get the facts straight in your post. He drugged and raped a 13 year old while she was saying NO. She didn't give consent. To the contrary, she was saying NO and he put drugs in her system and had his way with her. What a sicko! And then he ran away, the cowardly sleazeball shit that he is. He did worse than anyone on that Dateline NBC program "To Catch A Predator" (those are people who got caught trying to meet fictional 13 year olds for consensual sex). Just because someone manages to run from the law for decades doesn't mean we should just let him off the hook. And just because he directed one or two semi-decent movies since he raped a 13 year old doesn't mean he should be let off the hook. It is cool that he's been arrested before he croaked, and I fully support this jack-ass being extradicted and having to face justice at last. The idea that the rich and famous are above the law is absurd.

And, btw, I say this as someone who doesn't think that every person who has sexual relations with a 13 year old is a rapist. But, in this case, Polanski drugged a 13 year old and committed various sexual acts on her against her will. It's time for him to serve his time.

 

[Dave]

Put him in the next cell to Charles Manson.

 

[Quiffaa]

A 13y old is a kid. S/he was not on equal consenting terms with an adult even if there were no drugs involved. So s/he 'technically' 'could not' consent.
Otherwise why couldn't s/he vote/ drive a car at the time etc.

If the other person were equally 13/14 ish, things would be different.

(At first I thought he was exceptionally stupid to visit Switzerland, then I heard he owns a house there. It is a tad late, but ...)

 

[Theo]

His movies are overrated anyway.

 

[troubleluvsme]

I'm amazed that the dirtbag was still making movies at all; not to mention winning awards and earning critical acclaim.

 

[DavidMich]

I'm amazed that the dirtbag was still making movies at all; not to mention winning awards and earning critical acclaim.

You can't say a movie sucks simply because a rapist directed it. A film does stand on its own. I personally like most his films.

I once read the victim, later in life as an adult, said the sex was consensual and it never bothered her...except when the media brought attention to her and her family. She wants the case to be dropped.

Either way, I could care less what happens.

 

[Theo]

You can't say a movie sucks simply because a rapist directed it. A film does stand on its own. I personally like most his films.

I once read the victim, later in life as an adult, said the sex was consensual and it never bothered her...except when the media brought attention to her and her family. She wants the case to be dropped.

Either way, I could care less what happens.

No, she didn't say it was consensual. What happened was that Polanski made a secret settlement with her (apparently paying her large sums of money) and so she now says she doesn't want them to continue to pursue the criminal charges. It's pretty funny that you claim it "never bothered her" when that is clearly not the factual record.

If you support filthy adults who drug up 13 year olds and rape them, and then manage to avoid justice due to their wealth and fame, just say so. But some of us are happy that the filthy man got arrested and will hopefully have to face justice at last, just as we feel anyone who does such crimes and doesn't happen to be a wealthy and famous filmmaker should. I would say the same if I thought he made great movies. It just so happens I think his movies are overrated.

 

[I am a Ghost]

Sleazebag.

 

[elmiramoz]

Because he's Polish, doesn't mean I care.
It's up to the court what they do with this.
I don't care.

 

[Hellie]

My daughter is 13 and is every inch a little girl still.That is shocking.

He should fry.

 

[I am a Ghost]

Quelle surprise...



France Blasts Polanski's Arrest Over 70s Case
11:53am UK, Monday September 28, 2009

France has condemned Roman Polanski's arrest in Switzerland on a 1978 US warrant for having sex with a 13-year-old girl.


Polanski, 76, was taken into custody after arriving in Zurich on Saturday where he was due to receive a prize at the city's film festival.

Amid protests from his adopted country, France, and his former homeland of Poland, he now faces a court battle over his extradition to California, and perhaps even a new trial in Los Angeles.

French Culture Minister Frederic Mitterrand has said he was "stunned" to hear about the arrest, adding that President Nicolas Sarkozy was following the case.

Mr Mitterrand's office said the minister "strongly regrets that a new ordeal is being inflicted on someone who has already experienced so many of them".


But LA County District Attorney Steve Cooley said: "Some form of justice will finally be done.

"He received a very, very, very lenient sentence back then, which would never be achievable under today's laws, and we'll see what the court wants to do in terms of the sentence and the parameters within the case settlement they had back then."

The LA District Attorney's office told Sky News that it had issued provisional arrest warrants for Polanski several times over the years. The latest was issued after it learned that Polanski was planning to travel to Switzerland.

Zurich Cantonal Police spokesman Stefan Oberlin said the arrest was carried out on instruction from the Federal Justice Department in Berne.

Polanski fled America in 1978 on the eve of his sentencing because he believed a judge might overrule his guilty plea-bargain agreement and jail him for 50 years.

He had been arrested the previous year and charged with giving drugs and alcohol to a 13-year-old girl and having unlawful sex with her at actor Jack Nicholson's Hollywood home. Nicholson was not in the house at the time.

Polanski maintained the girl was sexually experienced and had consented.
He spent 42 days in prison undergoing psychiatric tests and eventually agreed to plead guilty and receive a sentence of time served.

Polanski's victim, Samantha Geimer, now 45, has called for the case against him to be dismissed and has already sued him, reaching an undisclosed settlement.

"We are going to try to lift the arrest warrant in Zurich ... the (extradition) convention between Switzerland and the United States is not very clear," Polanski's lawyer, Georges Kiejman, told France Info radio.

Polanski made his name in the 1960s with unsettling thrillers such as Repulsion and Rosemary's Baby before making the Oscar-winning Chinatown in 1974.

He won the Best Director Oscar in 2002 for World War II drama The Pianist. As a child in Poland he had survived the Holocaust, although his mother died in Auschwitz.

Because of the threat of arrest he accepted the Oscar in France from actor Harrison Ford.

In 2004, during a successful libel case against Vanity Fair, Polanski gave evidence to the High Court in London by video link, again through fear of extradition to the US.

He has never returned to Los Angeles, where in 1969 his heavily pregnant wife, actress Sharon Tate, was murdered by followers of the notorious Charles Manson.

 

[anon x]

Mmm,the perfect time to watch,
"Roman Polanski:Wanted and Desired"


oh,if anyone wants it uploaded,let me know

 

[DavidMich]

I hope he is released and continues to make films.

 

[oye terence]

Mmm,the perfect time to watch,
"Roman Polanski:Wanted and Desired"


oh,if anyone wants it uploaded,let me know

That was very good, I saw it a few times.Makes me wonder what they can do now, though.The original sentence or agreement was basically approved by both the defense team and the prosecutor, should be interesting.

 

[MindlessRuffian]

I hope he is released and continues to make films.

...sad.

 

[Seasick]

If it were my daughter he wouldn't have to worry about a jail cell because he would be 6 feet under. f***ing dirtbag.

 

[Oh my god. it's Robby!]

right, like continuing to prosecute Roman Polanski( long after his plea bargain was, at a minimum, totally bungled by the law)
like that is going to protect even one single American child
I mean the woman(now in her 40s or 50s ) he admitted to having sex with has not wanted to testify for years, but still the law and press stalk her
likely more now
but yeah, I am sure a bunch of righteous f***ers will be only to happy to pat themselves on the back about all they are doing to protect minors from such things happening
what a crock shit that this is of any importance to people in Obama's DoJ and the L.A. district attorney's office still
The cost of this of this high profile case will cost millions and result in a number of other more pressing cases being delayed if not lost altogether.
and
how about the Swiss? so much for their neutrality, which they still say extends millions and millions of dollars in gold stolen by Nazis, that they wont let anybody know about
but hey, I guess equal rights do not extend to someone from where Roman spent most WW2*
stupid f***in swiss, at least they are not likely to fool anybody in Europe as easy as people here seem to shovel the shit the local and federal gov have been offering up on this case
its quite comical to actually think about how dumb you would have to be think this case is about what crimes Roman Polanski admitted to in 1977**
which he already admitted to in exchange for a lighter sentence, only then to later have it taken away in a double cross typical of the scum that made up the L.A. D.A.'s office in the 1970s
of course he ran after that, anybody else in his position would have done the same thing as he did, if they could
and I for one actually believe that him fleeing the country was exactly what they wanted him to do back in 1977!

*=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Krak%C3%B3w_Ghetto
**=http://www.vachss.com/mission/roman_polanski.html

 

[troubleluvsme]

right, like continuing to prosecute Roman Polanski( long after his plea bargain was, at a minimum, totally bungled by the law)

Hey Robby.....

Spoiler

http://forums.morrissey-solo.com/showthread.php?t=95459&highlight=robby+total+f***tard

just sayin'

 

[DavidMich]

...sad.

simply provoking Theo. I should stop now.

But does that make the woman in the case 'sad' as well? She wants the case and charges to be dropped.