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Sex charges against me a travesty, says Polanski
Terry Kirby3 Dec 2008
Three decades after fleeing the United States over a sex case involving a 13-year-old girl, Roman Polanski, the Oscar-winning film director, has asked a Los Angeles court to dismiss the charges against him.
Lawyers for Polanski, 75, who has lived in exile in Europe since 1978, claim there was a pattern of misconduct among the prosecuting authorities and the original judge in the case. A hearing is due in January.
An arrest warrant for the original case remains outstanding and Polanski, the respected director of landmark films such as Rosemary's Baby and Chinatown, could in theory be arrested and imprisoned if he returned to the United States.
The court move is based on disclosures in a documentary about the film maker, in which the victim, Samantha Geimer, now 43, said she believes Polanski should be forgiven and not jailed.
Polanski's lawyers claim there was a "a pattern of misconduct and improper communications" between the Los Angeles district attorney's office and the judge in Polanski's case.
"This case serves as a classic example of how our justice system can be abused, and defendants' rights trampled, by an unholy alliance between courts and criminal prosecutors," said lawyers Chad Hummel and Brad Dalton, the son of Doug Dalton, the lawyer who represented Polanski in the original case. They said the court should take account of the victim's wishes.
A spokeswoman for the LA District Attorney said his office could not comment because they had not yet seen the legal papers and heard about it only through media reports. "We're looking forward to seeing Mr Polanski in Los Angeles to litigate it," she added.
In the documentary, Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired, Roger Gunson, the then deputy district attorney who prosecuted Polanski, says that in the same position he would have fled the country.
The film depicts the judge, Laurence Rittenband as a publicity-seeker who held news conferences and engaged in extrajudicial meetings about the case. Another deputy district attorney, David Wells, acknowledges advising the judge on how to sentence the film director, even though he was not involved in the case, and influencing the judge by showing him photographs depicting Polanski with girls at a party while he was awaiting sentencing.
The original case caused a sensation. Polanski, already well known as a director and widower of Sharon Tate, who was murdered by the Manson family in 1969, was arrested for having sex with Geimer, whom he had hired for a photographic shoot. He pleaded guilty to one count of unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor; five other counts were dismissed.
Facing a prison sentence of up to three years, Polanski fled to France, where he has remained ever since, only visiting countries which do not have full extradition treaties with the US, including his native Poland.
In his autobiography, he claimed that the sex case was part of a blackmail plot against him.
Feted by the film world, he has continued to direct critically acclaimed films, including the 2002 Holocaust drama The Pianist, for which he won the best-director Academy Award. He is currently filming The Ghost, based on a book by Robert Harris.
Reader views (4)
"it is the courts that decide what is and what is not acceptable in society."
No - not in this high-profile case, Rogan. The judge was a bitter tyrant who hated foreigners and persuaded Polanski to admit to the claim so that he would avoid prosecution and jail. After admitting it, the judge reneged on his pledge and Polanski understandably fled his adopted country for a more tolernat France, where he has resided and worked ever since
- Keith Price, Luton, England, 03/12/2008 20:08
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Sex with a minor is, rightly, against the law in the USA and in Europe - no matter what the child's wishes in the matter. That's it - end of story.
As for the contention that Polanski was tricked into a plea bargain...
That was not a court of law, but a documentary. Documentaries are ultimately what the editor, one individual, wants to present - or even consciously or unconsciously soften emphasis on anything he/she thinks/feels detracts from the central 'message' being presented.
Flawed or not, it is the courts that decide what is and what is not acceptable in society. If he wants to challenge the findings of the court then it also has to be through the courts. The end answer is that anything other than the rule of law is anarchy and chaos. Saying that people should be able to decide for themselves on the 'fairness' of their punishment within the unified standards set by law is just a wee bit preposterous!
- Rogan, Irving, 03/12/2008 19:31
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But Polanski WAS and IS innocent so he deserves a full pardon. The TV programme showed how the judge tricked the film director in a plea-bargain travesty
- Keith Price, Luton, England, 03/12/2008 17:23
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Serve your three years! This is classic action of the guilty; blame the prosection because you have not a leg t stand on. Guilty as charged. You did the crime; so do the time.
- Bill Moriarty, Ilford, Essex, 03/12/2008 15:05
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