Roman Polanski arrested in Zürich

[Martinus]

Anyway, I understand the victim does not want to testify against him. Doesn't this significantly reduce the chance of the prosecution getting conviction?

[CountDeMoney]

Well it's not like I'm saying he did nothing wrong but saying that he "drugged and raped a child" is a fucking hell of an overreaction. The girl was not a virgin at the time and she was being pimped out by her mother to be a startlet. I don't think any party involved had any doubts as to what will happen if they live a 40 y.o. director with a teenage girl seeking an "audition" in a huge empty villa with a swimming pool, a jacuzzi and a well stocked bar.

He should answer for having sex with an underaged girl, but you make it sound like he picked and drugged some innocent girl from a school playground and then had his way with her.

Oh, man.

[Martinus]

Well it's not like I'm saying he did nothing wrong but saying that he "drugged and raped a child" is a fucking hell of an overreaction. The girl was not a virgin at the time and she was being pimped out by her mother to be a startlet. I don't think any party involved had any doubts as to what will happen if they live a 40 y.o. director with a teenage girl seeking an "audition" in a huge empty villa with a swimming pool, a jacuzzi and a well stocked bar.

He should answer for having sex with an underaged girl, but you make it sound like he picked and drugged some innocent girl from a school playground and then had his way with her.

Oh, man.

LOL what? Compared to what the European artists are saying, my opinion would be viewed as a Yanqui-pigdog-nazi-style hate speech against a great director.

[Martinus]

PARIS, France (CNN) -- Filmmaker Roman Polanski, arrested in Switzerland over the weekend, will fight extradition to the United States where he faces sentencing for having sex with a 13-year-old girl, his California lawyers said Monday.

"An issue related to the Swiss extradition matter is presently being litigated before the California Court of Appeal," attorneys Douglas Dalton and Chad Hummel said in a prepared statement. Separate legal counsel will represent Polanksi in any legal proceedings in Switzerland, they added.

Meanwhile, prosecutors in Los Angeles, California, released a detailed timeline of the Polanski case, which dates to 1977. It indicated that prosecutors had tried to have Polanski arrested and extradited from Israel in 2007.

It also shows that prosecutors obtained a "provisional arrest warrant" upon learning on September 22 that Polanski planned to travel to Switzerland to participate in a film festival.

The warrant was obtained through the U.S. Department of Justice's Office of International Affairs, and Swiss authorities executed it on Saturday.

The DA's timeline revealed that multiple attempts have been made over the years to take Polanski into custody for extradition. Those attempts involved Polanski's planned travels to England, Canada, Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Brazil and Israel.

Earlier on Monday, French authorities expressed solidarity with Roman Polanski's family and outrage over the arrest.

French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said he hoped authorities would respect Polanski's rights "and that the affair (will) come to a favorable resolution," the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

The French culture and communications minister, Frederic Mitterrand, said he "learned with astonishment" of Polanski's arrest. He expressed solidarity with Polanski's family and said "he wants to remind everyone that Roman Polanski benefits from great general esteem" and has "exceptional artistic creation and human qualities."

Investigators in the United States say Polanski drugged and raped a 13-year-old girl in the 1970s. Polanski pleaded guilty in 1977 to having unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor, but he fled the United States before he could be sentenced. He settled in France.

U.S. authorities have had a warrant for his arrest since 1978. Police in Switzerland arrested Polanski on that warrant Saturday after the 76-year-old tried to enter Switzerland to attend the Zurich Film Festival, which is holding a tribute to Polanski this year.

Filmmakers have reacted with outrage at the arrest.

"As a Swiss filmmaker, I feel deeply ashamed," Christian Frei said.

"He's a brilliant guy, and he made a little mistake 32 years ago. What a shame for Switzerland," said photographer Otto Weisser, a friend of Polanski.

The Polish Filmmakers Association posted a letter on its Web site Monday from the European Film Academy secretariat that protested "the arbitrary treatment of one of the world's most outstanding film directors."

The letter, which was read aloud at the festival, was signed by directors Wim Wenders, Volker Schloendorff and Bertrand Tavernier; actress Victoria Abril; cinematographer Peter Suschitzky; and screenwriter and actor Jean-Claude Carriere.

Mitterrand said he has spoken with French President Nicolas Sarkozy and that Sarkozy "shares his hope for a rapid resolution to the situation which would allow Roman Polanski to rejoin his family as quickly as possible."

Mitterrand said he "greatly regrets that Mr. Polanski has had yet another difficulty added to an already turbulent existence."

Polanski won an Academy Award for best director in 2003 for "The Pianist." He was nominated for best director Oscars for "Tess" and "Chinatown" and for best writing for "Rosemary's Baby," which he also directed.

A spokesman for the Swiss Justice Ministry said Polanski was arrested upon arrival at the airport.

A provisional arrest warrant was issued last week out of Los Angeles, California, after authorities learned he 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 raped 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 finalized," ministry spokesman Guido Balmer said in an e-mail.

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 the then-teenage girl, Samantha Geimer, 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 there.

She said 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 a probation report. "I think he's an unhappy man."

Polanski's lawyers tried this year to have the charges thrown out, but a judge in Los Angeles rejected the request. However, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Peter Espinoza left the door open to reconsider his ruling if Polanski shows up in court.

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 teen 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 2009 hearing, Espinoza mentioned a documentary film, "Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired," 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," Espinoza said. But he declined to dismiss the case entirely.

Geimer is among those calling for the case to be tossed out. She 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."

Geimer, now 45, married and a mother of three, sued Polanski and received an undisclosed settlement.

[Caliga]

Well it's not like I'm saying he did nothing wrong but saying that he "drugged and raped a child" is a fucking hell of an overreaction. The girl was not a virgin at the time and she was being pimped out by her mother to be a startlet. I don't think any party involved had any doubts as to what will happen if they live a 40 y.o. director with a teenage girl seeking an "audition" in a huge empty villa with a swimming pool, a jacuzzi and a well stocked bar.

He should answer for having sex with an underaged girl, but you make it sound like he picked and drugged some innocent girl from a school playground and then had his way with her.

Oh, man.

Seedy, did you know that it's less of a crime to kill whores since, you know, they're filthy whores and all?  I'd only count them as like half of a person for sentencing purposes.

[merithyn]

Well it's not like I'm saying he did nothing wrong but saying that he "drugged and raped a child" is a fucking hell of an overreaction. The girl was not a virgin at the time and she was being pimped out by her mother to be a startlet. I don't think any party involved had any doubts as to what will happen if they live a 40 y.o. director with a teenage girl seeking an "audition" in a huge empty villa with a swimming pool, a jacuzzi and a well stocked bar.

He should answer for having sex with an underaged girl, but you make it sound like he picked and drugged some innocent girl from a school playground and then had his way with her.

Since she wasn't a virgin, that makes it all okay? Because her mother let her go, that makes it all okay?

Read this then tell me he didn't drug and rape a child:

http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/polanskicover1.html

[Berkut]

and yet she (the victim... the only person harmed by Polanski in this scenario) denies any harm being done. She has to continually relive all this shit... at least now that he's arrested and likely to get a worse sentence than any other rapist maybe that will be over for her? Nope. She still has to live with it.

I think on any 30 year old warrant there is pause to be given to make sure that after all this time, things are still wrapped up correctly. I'm not saying he shouldn't do time. But If it was something that was important to anyone they could have caught him any time they really wanted over the years. Why now?

Are US law enforcement so incompetent that they can't catch a famous movie Director/star whose whereabouts are always known?

Bah. too bad this isn't actually about the crime committed. I noticed too that Marc Emery is finally surrendering for extradition. Maybe it's more to do with USA flexing it's muscles in areas that they feel comfortable. Canada & Switzerland. Wow good job catching those guys who pled guilty.

So you're saying this should just be forgotten? He drugged and raped a child, and it should just be... forgotten. Because he had the fortitude to stay out of the States for 30 years?

Maybe it could have been done sooner. Maybe they should have tried harder. But the reality is that he did the crime and should pay the time. I feel for the child/woman, but as you said, she's going to have to live with this forever regardless of what happens.

Well it's not like I'm saying he did nothing wrong but saying that he "drugged and raped a child" is a fucking hell of an overreaction. The girl was not a virgin at the time and she was being pimped out by her mother to be a startlet. I don't think any party involved had any doubts as to what will happen if they live a 40 y.o. director with a teenage girl seeking an "audition" in a huge empty villa with a swimming pool, a jacuzzi and a well stocked bar.

He should answer for having sex with an underaged girl, but you make it sound like he picked and drugged some innocent girl from a school playground and then had his way with her.

What  load of horseshit.

The girl told him "no" over and over again, he raped her. It doesn't matter what her mom thought, or whether she was a virgin (she was), or anything else.

Jesus, I cannot believe people will actually try to justify and excuse someone drugging a raping a child. Well, I guess it is Marty, but still.

[Berkut]

Anyway, I understand the victim does not want to testify against him. Doesn't this significantly reduce the chance of the prosecution getting conviction?

Not really, since they already have a conviction.

You sure you are a lawyer?

[Malthus]

Well it's not like I'm saying he did nothing wrong but saying that he "drugged and raped a child" is a fucking hell of an overreaction.

From what I've read, that's pretty well exactly what he did - drugged and forcibly sodomized a 13 year old child.

[Malthus]

Ah. I think one reason the issue is so confused is people attacking Polanski keep bringing up that he gave the girl drugs. That makes it sound like she then acquiesced. If the account Hans just gave is accurate, the drugs weren't important at all.

Sure they are important - drugging the girl makes his behaviour the more reprehensible. Presumably he was drugging her so that she would not resist. She did anyway, and he fucked her in spite of her resistance (at least, according to her deposition, which hasn't really been challenged).

[Berkut]

Ah. I think one reason the issue is so confused is people attacking Polanski keep bringing up that he gave the girl drugs. That makes it sound like she then acquiesced. If the account Hans just gave is accurate, the drugs weren't important at all.

Sure they are important - drugging the girl makes his behaviour the more reprehensible. Presumably he was drugging her so that she would not resist. She did anyway, and he fucked her in spite of her resistance (at least, according to her deposition, which hasn't really been challenged).

I think I will go with the word of the 13 year old victim over the owrd of the 40 year old piece of human refuse admitted rapist and fugitive.

Of course, she hasn't made any wonderful movies, so maybe that is crazy on my part.

[Berkut]

I think the comment from the French official about how this illustrates the "two sides of America" was pretty ironic, since from here it indicates exactly the same thing about France.

Seems like a nice country...that harbors kiddy rapists.

[grumbler]

I wish I could say that this was a case of "the usual suspects" on Languish talking "their usual schtick" but I really wonder if Marti has thought through the implications of his apparent belief that raping non-virgins isn't an offense to be outraged over, and that the tacit consent of mother converts a rape into something we shouldn't be concerned about.

I echo the sentiment:  "Marti, are you sure you still want to claim you are a lawyer?"

[grumbler]

I think the comment from the French official about how this illustrates the "two sides of America" was pretty ironic, since from here it indicates exactly the same thing about France.

Seems like a nice country...that harbors kiddy rapists.

Good point.

[Valmy]

I think the comment from the French official about how this illustrates the "two sides of America" was pretty ironic, since from here it indicates exactly the same thing about France.

Seems like a nice country...that harbors kiddy rapists.

I am suddenly very uncomfortable with the way this thread is going.

I mean surely there is somebody in France glad to see that rapist dude arrested.