The Roman Polanski case.

[rubiks6]

I hope this will not count as cross-posting, but I think the Roman Polanski case is so extraordinary it deserves its own thread.

I post it here in junior idols, because it involves a young girl. I thought I would have more responses and opinions in this sub-forum than out in chatterbox or somewhere. If this does not belong here, mods, feel free to move it.
_______________________

News Story ...
Source >
CNN Transcripts© 2009 Cable News Network. Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
______________________________
(CNN) -- Oscar-winning filmmaker Roman Polanski has been arrested in Switzerland on a decades-old arrest warrant stemming from a sex charge in California, Swiss police said Sunday.

Polanski, 76, was taken into custody trying to enter Switzerland on Saturday, Zurich police said. A spokesman for the Swiss Justice Ministry said Polanski was arrested upon arrival at the airport.

He has lived in France for decades to avoid being arrested if he enters the United States and declined to appear in person to collect his Academy Award for Best Director for "The Pianist" in 2003.

The director pleaded guilty in 1977 to a single count of having unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor, acknowledging he had sex with a 13-year-old girl. But he fled the United States before he could be sentenced, and U.S. authorities have had a warrant for his arrest since 1978.

Polanski was nominated for best director Oscars for "Tess" and "Chinatown," and for best writing for "Rosemary's Baby," which he also directed. He was en route to the Zurich Film Festival, which is holding a Polanski tribute this year, when he was arrested by Swiss authorities, the festival said.

A provisional arrest warrant was issued last week out of Los Angeles, California, after authorities learned Polanski was going to be in Switzerland, Sandi Gibbons, spokeswoman for the Los Angeles County district attorney's office, told CNN on Sunday.

There have been repeated attempts to settle the case over the years, but the sticking point has always been Polanski's refusal to return to attend hearings. Prosecutors have consistently argued that it would be a miscarriage of justice to allow a man to go free who "drugged and r***ing a 13-year-old child."

The Swiss Justice Ministry said Polanski was put "in provisional detention." But whether he can be extradited to the United States "can be established only after the extradition process judicially has been finalised," a ministry spokesman said in an e-mail.

"It is possible to appeal at the federal penal court of justice against an arrest warrant in view to extradition as well as against an extradition decision," the spokesman wrote. "Their decisions can be taken further to the federal court of justice."

Gibbons said the extradition process will be determined in Switzerland, but said authorities are ready to move forward with Polanski's sentencing process, depending on what happens in Zurich.

Polanski was accused of plying a 13-year-old girl with champagne and a sliver of a quaalude tablet and performing various sex acts, including intercourse, with her during a photo shoot at actor Jack Nicholson's house. He was 43 at the time.

Nicholson was not at home, but his girlfriend at the time, actress Anjelica Huston, was.

According to a probation report contained in the filing, Huston described the victim as "sullen."

"She appeared to be one of those kind of little chicks between -- could be any age up to 25. She did not look like a 13-year-old scared little thing," Huston said.

She added that Polanski did not strike her as the type of man who would force himself on a young girl.

"I don't think he's a bad man," she said in the report. "I think he's an unhappy man."

Polanski pleaded guilty to a single count of having unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor.

There have been repeated attempts to settle the case over the years, but the sticking point has always been Polanski's refusal to return to attend hearings.

Prosecutors have consistently argued that it would be a miscarriage of justice to allow a man to go free who "drugged and r***ing a 13-year-old child."

Polanski's lawyers tried earlier this year to have the charges thrown out, but a Los Angeles judge rejected the request.

In doing so, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Peter Espinoza left the door open to reconsider his ruling if Polanski shows up in court.

Espinoza also appeared to acknowledge problems with the way Polanski's case was handled years ago.

According to court documents, Polanski, his lawyer and the prosecutor thought they'd worked out a deal that would spare Polanski from prison and let the young victim avoid a public trial.

But the original judge in the case, who is now dead, first sent the director to maximum-security prison for 42 days while he underwent psychological testing. Then, on the eve of his sentencing, the judge told attorneys he was inclined to send Polanski back to prison for another 48 days.

Polanski fled the United States for France, where he was born.

In the February hearing, Espinoza mentioned a documentary film that depicts backroom deals between prosecutors and a media-obsessed judge who was worried his public image would suffer if he didn't send Polanski to prison.

"It's hard to contest some of the behavior in the documentary was misconduct," said Espinoza.

But he declined to dismiss the case entirely.

Legal experts said such a ruling would have been extremely rare.

Polanski's victim is among those calling for the case to be tossed out.

Samantha Geimer filed court papers in January saying, "I am no longer a 13-year-old child. I have dealt with the difficulties of being a victim, have surmounted and surpassed them with one exception.

"Every time this case is brought to the attention of the Court, great focus is made of me, my family, my mother and others. That attention is not pleasant to experience and is not worth maintaining over some irrelevant legal nicety, the continuation of the case."

Geimer, now 45, married and a mother of three, sued Polanski and received an undisclosed settlement. She long ago came forward and made her identity public -- mainly, she said, because she was disturbed by how the criminal case had been handled.

Following Espinoza's ruling earlier this year, Geimer's lawyer, Larry Silver, said he was disappointed and that Espinoza "did not get to the merits and consider the clear proof of both judicial and prosecutorial corruption."

He argued in court that had "Mr. Polanski been treated fairly" his client would not still be suffering because of publicity almost 32 years after the crime.

Polanski's arrest Saturday came two days after one of his wife's killers died.

The director's pregnant wife, actress Sharon Tate, and four others were butchered by members of the Manson "family" in August 1969. Polanski was filming in Europe at the time.

By her own admission, Susan Atkins held the eight-months-pregnant Tate down as she pleaded for mercy, stabbing the 26-year-old actress 16 times.
_____________________________________

 

[rubiks6]

What a confusing and multi-faceted situation ...

Many people, including heads of state, have weighed-in in Polanski's defense - on what I consider very frivolous grounds. Citing his age, the age of the case, his citizenship (not U. S.), his illustrious career, the girl's desire to have the case dropped. I consider all of these to have little bearing on the case.

More notable grounds for defense are possible impropriaties on the part of the prosecuting attornies or the judge. While these may or may not be facts, I think the important factors in the case are the events that led to the original charge, and not any of the events that occurred afterwards.

Most of the people who have weighed-in against Polanski cite the fact that he was charged with, and pled guilty, to drugging and raping a 13-year old girl. They say this is an audacious crime that should be punished most severely, regardless of the age of the case or the notoriety of the perpetrator. If it were really that simple, I would tend to agree with them, but ...

My question is (I speak from my own sense of morality, not from any legal standing) ...
How audacious was the crime? I would guess that when the event occurred, Roman Polanski had no idea of the youth of the girl. This could be because of many factors, including the girl's make-up and attire, her demeanor, the venue (what was she doing there, in the first place), Polanski's own state of inebriation, and perhaps even encouragement from his peers. I doubt Roman Polanski had any idea how young the girl was at the time. The girl was consensual at the time, according to Polanski, and I believe him (though I have no justification for my belief). I think that Polanski pled guilty, because he wanted to admit that the bare facts of the case were true - that he had sex with a 13-year old girl - and that, being a man of integrity, he was willing to admit his wrong.
______________________

What outcome would I like to see in the case? ...

I think that Roman Polanski should voluntarily allow the extradition. That he should publicly express his remoarse for the events of that evening. That he should also publicly apologize to the girl, not only for his actions that evening, but also for allowing case to remain active for so many years and haunting her. Her desire is that the case would be left in the past, and I think Roman Polanski should express that same desire. He should come to the United States and face his sentencing. I would hope that it would be a light sentence, due to the mitigating circumstances. He should serve his sentence with grace and dignity, allow the matter to end, and then move on with his life, and allow the girl to move on with her's.
______________________

Mr. Polanski, you did something wrong, it is true, but many of us are not so angry about what happenned. Take your punishment and move on. Our best thoughts and wishes go with you.

 

[rubiks6]

Updating story.

Source >

(CNN) -- A retired prosecutor whose comments in a 2008 HBO documentary threatened to derail a 31-year-old sex case against film director Roman Polanski now says he lied.

David Wells told CNN's Wolf Blitzer on Thursday that he "buttered up" his role in the Polanski case for the documentary crew. He said he lied about trying to goad a judge to sentence Polanski to prison in 1978 for having sex with a 13-year-old girl.

Wells' comments in "Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired" raised questions of judicial misconduct and spawned Polanski's most recent effort to get the case dismissed. But the legal challenge stalled when Polanski refused to return to the United States, where he faced certain arrest.

"I made these imprudent comments, just to liven it up a little," Wells said. "In retrospect, it was a bad thing to do, and I never knew this thing was going to be shown in the United States." Watch Wells' rueful admission »

Wells now says he never spoke with the judge about the Polanski case, as he had claimed in the documentary. "I never discussed this case with [the judge] at any time," Wells told Blitzer.

Asked why he should be believed now, Wells said, "I'm destroying my character in public and everybody in the world knows about it. ... I don't like admitting this."

He agreed to take a polygraph test to set the record straight.

Polanski was arrested last weekend in Switzerland on a 1978 fugitive warrant and will fight extradition, his lawyers said. They had no immediate comment on Wells' recantation.

"I am astonished that he has now changed his story," Marina Zenovich, the documentary's director, said in an e-mailed statement. "It is a sad day for documentary filmmakers when something like this happens."

She said Wells signed a release form, never raised any doubts or concerns, and vouched for the documentary when he spoke to The New York Times in July 2008.

Polanski's arrest in Switzerland made Wells' public exposure inevitable, he said. "I'm going to tell it the way it is and if I take a beating over it, I deserve it," he said.

Blitzer challenged Wells to a polygraph test, and he agreed to take one if his former employers at the Los Angeles County, California, District Attorney's office allow it. "I'm not going to do anything more to hamper the District Attorney's case," he said.

District Attorney's spokeswoman Sandi Gibbons said the office had no position on the polygraph challenge. "Mr. Wells is retired," she said. "We have no control over him."

Wells was a bit player in a high profile case that has haunted the courts of Los Angeles for three decades. He was a calendar prosecutor, handling routine matters in the courtroom of Superior Court Judge Laurence Rittenband, who oversaw the Polanski case.

Rittenband, who died in 1993, had a fascination with celebrity cases, and was so publicity conscious that he directed his courtroom staff to keep a scrapbook of news clippings, according to court records.

Polanski was charged with six felonies, including sodomy and r***, but pleaded guilty to a single count of having unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor under a plea bargain. The director, his lawyer and the prosecutor handling the case believed they'd reached a deal that would spare the young victim a public trial and Polanski jail time, according to court records.

Polanski fled the United States before sentencing. He was spooked when Rittenband indicated he would not honor the deal and instead intended to send the famed director to prison. Watch how the plea bargain went south »

The charges stemmed from Polanski's March 1977 encounter with the 13-year-old girl during a photo shoot at actor Jack Nicholson's house on Mulholland Drive. Polanski told the girl's mother he was on assignment for French Vogue, according to court records.

Wells said he was critical about the manner in which the case was handled. He believed Polanski should go to prison. He told the documentary makers that he suggested to Rittenband that Polanski be sent for 90 days of "diagnostic testing" at a state prison facility in Chino, California, to determine whether he was a sex offender.

He admitted to CNN that he was lying about suggesting the 90-day evaluation, adding that Rittenband routinely sent defendants for evaluation.

The evaluation was completed in 42 days, and Polanski was freed early after it determined he was not a sex offender.

Polanski was given permission to travel to Europe to complete a film before he was formally sentenced. It was understood by everyone that Polanski would receive credit for time served and probation, according to filings in his legal challenge.

While Polanski was in Europe, Wells said in the documentary, a photograph appeared of the director smoking a cigar, sipping a beer and accompanied by two young women.

A script from the documentary in the court file lays out what Wells said happened next:

"And so I took the picture into Judge Rittenband. I said, 'Judge,' I said, 'look here, he's flipping you off,' " he said. "I took it to Rittenband because I figured it was something he ought to see. And what I told him was, I said, 'You know, judge, you've made so many mistakes, I think, in this case. Look. He's giving you the finger. He's flipping you off. And here's the way he's doing it.' And I said, 'Haven't you had enough of this?' And then, of course, he exploded and what happened, happened."

Wells now says he lied about that, too. He said a newspaper reporter handed him the photo, which he passed on to the judge's court staff.

"I could call it building a bigger story, putting my part in the case bigger than it actually was," he said. "But when you peel away all the feathers, it's just a lie. I shouldn't have done it. I wish I didn't."

 

[loveIdols]

She says "leave him alone":
http://www.pollsb.com/polls/p2054124-samantha_gailey_says_leave_polanski_alone

That surely is telling -- it seems that the prosecutors and the media are out for blood, they obviously don't have enough child rapists and molesters (sarcasm) so they have to make an example out of someone popular.

I know he did something wrong, but to prosecute 31 years later when even the victim really doesn't want to press charges?

It really shows that they are not doing it in public interest or in the interest of the victim -- instead they are doing it so they can place a checkmark next to a point on their own political agenda.

 

[Daryl]

She was a cutie!