Director Roman Polanski in Swiss custody on 31-year-old U.S. arrest warrant

Monday 28th September, 06:16 AM JST

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Molenir at 10:15 PM JST - 29th September

To be fair, I don't believe it was him that actually provided the drugs to the girl. However, the fact that she is involved in this at such a young age speaks more to her parents then anything else. This aside, no one deserves to be raped. Particularly not a 13 year old girl.

Madverts - If you'd bother to read my posts, the only thing irking me apart from your use of the phrase "little girl" to twist the facts, is the waste of money in an affair that we all know this guy is going to walk away from.

Calling a little girl, a little girl isn't twisting the facts, its facing reality. You're attempt to pervert things by claiming she is an adult, despite being only 13, is whats wrong here.

If the crime had been perpertrated by a nobody thar went into hiding all those years ago, we wouldn't be discussing it today.

You're right. We wouldn't. Because he would have been arrested, and sent back to face his punishment years ago. Instead because hes a rich and famous director, he has successfully evaded punishment for years.
Cos at 10:32 PM JST - 29th September

I am shocked by the waste of time on that lunatic. When I saw Emmannuelle Seigner was marrying him while that drug and rape story was known, I wondered why her family didn't take her to a psychiatric ward.

Until last week, he had not gotten any favor from France. My country was forced to accept him because he is a national. Being born in Paris, with at least one parent of French nationality, even if he had not visited for 40 yrs, he could obtain a French passport automatically without background check. We have guys we have taken back after they left Guantanamo or other jails. No choice, it's our garbage. Then France doesn't extraditate its nationals to the US, because it's reciprocal. That doesn't mean such people all escape punishment. They can be judged in France. There were many cases of pedophiles going to French courts for their crimes in Africa and Asia. French judges would have been delighted to get Polanski's case. The thing is nobody sued him in France, neither the victim's family nor Californian authorities did anything until 2005. Obviously he had given enough money to the girl's family. He could have stayed free and go anywhere except to the US until his death.

Around 2005, they restarted it all because of Polanski's provocation. He is a cynical idiot. As he regularly says in interviews stuff like : "I don't see why I should be punished for my taste for very young girls...". He doesn't get it. He doesn't understand the laws about children, rapes, drugs, etc. He is a sick man. And he believed -just like Paris Hilton did- that he could just walk away from courts, tell them to get stuffed, and later send lawyers and money to arrange things. When he asked the case to be re-opened to allow him to visit Hollywood, and his biggest argument was : "I'm rich and famous. So I have all the rights. You bothered me for nothing during 25 yrs, now let me.". Since then, the US authorities have asked all the countries they have agreement with, to put him on the list of "arrest and extraditate". He still decided to go to a festival in Switzerland. He has chosen to get caught, he shouldn't complain that was a trap.

BTW, for what he did, he could go to jail like Michael Jackson or like Woody Allen ?
DocLeod at 06:45 AM JST - 30th September

I hope that he is finally extradited, and that he serves time for both the child rape and fleeing from justice. I hope that he serves years in prison.

From the court:

"[T]he defendant has been convicted of a felony sex offense involving a child under the age of 14 years...[and been] alleged to be a Mentally Disordered Sex Offender, in that you are a person who, by reason of mental defect, disease or disorder, are predisposed to the commission of sexual offenses to such a degree that you are dangerous to the health and safety of others."

From the victim, after being plied with a sedative and alcohol:

"I was mostly just on and off saying, 'No, stop.' But I wasn't fighting really because I, you know, there was no one else there and I had no place to go."
yabits at 07:41 AM JST - 30th September

The victim in this case has been quoted as saying that she is being hurt far more by the justice system than what Polanski did to her.

Of course, sadistic types only care about victims' rights when it means harsher punishment.
USNinJapan2 at 11:28 AM JST - 30th September

yabits

Prosecution of a criminal offense is not driven by the wishes of the victim. Never has and never will for good reason. Civil suits are a different story, but how a victim feels later about his/her assailant and how he/she feels as a result of the publicity is immaterial to whether or not the criminal should be prosecuted for breaking the law.
spudman at 05:12 PM JST - 30th September

agree with USNin, one of the few times.LOL
seijichuudo9sha at 10:57 PM JST - 30th September

Right wing rhetoric is reaching disgusting new lows. They are saying things like "If he was FATHER Polanski the Hollywood elites would be baying for his blood."

Real funny, wingers.As usual, they have no arguments and are just jealous about President Obama going to Copenhagen. About as persuasive as Glenn Beck.
Molenir at 07:24 AM JST - 1st October

Right wing rhetoric is reaching disgusting new lows. They are saying things like "If he was FATHER Polanski the Hollywood elites would be baying for his blood."

I'd like to think that regardless of who the man is, or what hes accomplished, if he raped a 13 year old girl, he would have to pay for his crimes. Apparently there are a lot of loons and wingers on the left who feel differently. They think its ok that hes a child rapist. Hes a good socialist, so he should be treated differently. Thats not an argument that carries any weight with me. To be honest, I don't see how anyone can feel that way. Its not something that makes any sense to me. How can you justify letting a child rapist walk free, merely because he managed to evade the police for 30 years. That should call for a harsher punishment, not a lighter one!
seijichuudo9sha at 08:54 AM JST - 1st October

Yabits, those are good points, as always my brother.I think it was Whoopi Goldberg that summed it up best for most of us, those of us who know Glenn Beck is just an actor and not a serious reporter, Polanski's actions with the girl that night weren't "rape-rape". Sheesh. It 's not like Polanksi is some kind of Mark Foley or anything.
michaelqtodd at 12:56 PM JST - 4th October

This is an interesting article.Presumably Polanski will be in for this treatment if he is not extradited to the US ."France is considering the compulsory "chemical castration" of sexual criminals"http://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10601250
nipponreddog at 03:13 PM JST - 4th October

Recent credible polls demonstrate that the overwhelming number of ordinary French citizens also want Polanski to be prosected and punished for premediatively planning and then executing the drugging, raping, and sodomizing of a 13 year-old girl in LA, and then fleeing prosecution.

The victim was apparently not compensated until sometime in 2003 when she again initiated legal action. Although Polanski had agreed to a $500,000 settlement back in 1993, the terms of which required silence and non-disclosure, the terms became public record when he refused to pay the money, filing legal actions to avoid payment that stalled things for 2 years. As of 1996, public records related to the case show Polanski owing over $625,000 to the victim, including interest due.

What this demonstrates is a lack of remorse; a crass, penurious, arrogant little man of great wealth who still felt it his right to indulge his admitted taste in very young girls, whether or not they wanted his attention. Natasha Kinski, at age 15, was a subsequent Polanski "sexual experience". How many others were victims whose parents chose to accept "quiet money" or were afraid to pursue the famous, wealthy, well-connected "big man" we will probably never know.

Let Polanski be brought back to face the lawful judicial system and process he fled from 31 years ago. He will get his day in court, and have a chance to plead his innocence or ask for forgiveness and mercy for his guilt.
nipponreddog at 03:28 PM JST - 4th October

M>>Maybe when the Obama justice department or a liberal judge lets the gguy off scot free, Obama should invite him over to stay at the White HHouse.< A AActually, it was reported in the Washington Post that Polanski has hired iinfluence-peddling mogul and power attorney Weingarten to represent him in seeking to get the Justice Dept. to block the provision requiring it to provide the offical government extradition request documents within the 60 period following the LA prosecutor's original extradition filing. W WWeingarten is reported to be a very close friend of Obama Administration AAttorney General Eric H. Holder.
nipponreddog at 03:56 PM JST - 4th October

Reid Weingarten "Mr. Weingarten is expected to mount a legal effort to block Mr. Polanski’s extradition before the issue works its way through the Swiss legal system, according to people who were briefed on Mr. Weingarten’s involvement, but spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.

A critical step will most likely be a move to stop the extradition before United States authorities send the required documents to Switzerland."

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/30/us/30polanski.html

“Roman Polanski deliberately, in his mid-40s, set up a young 13-year-old actress to come to his home, drugged her, got her naked and raped her,” said Paul Petersen, president of A Minor Consideration, a foundation devoted to the protection of young performers. “The Hollywood community is protecting him. It makes me crazy.”
nipponreddog at 04:02 PM JST - 4th October

But not all filmmakers are supporting Polanski.

Luc Besson, a prominent French film director and producer, was not on the list, though he describes himself as a Polanski friend.

“Our daughters are good friends,” Mr. Besson said in a radio interview with RTL Soir. “But there is one justice, and that should be the same for everyone.”

He added, , “I don’t have any opinion on this, but I have a daughter, 13 years old. And if she was violated, nothing would be the same, even 30 years later.”
nipponreddog at 04:19 PM JST - 4th October

interview Polanski gave to the novelist Martin Amis in 1979, the year after Polanski went on the run. The interview originally appeared in Tatler and is collected in Amis’s excellent book Visiting Mrs Nabokov.

Here’s a section of the first quote it contains from Polanski at a filming at the Poland National Tourism office in 1979.

Roman Polanski: 'Everyone else fancies little girls too'

“If I had killed somebody, it wouldn’t have had so much appeal to the press, you see? But… f—ing, you see, and the young girls. Judges want to f— young girls. Juries want to f— young girls. Everyone wants to f— young girls!”

http://community.livejournal.com/ohnotheydidnt/39632107.html