This is getting pretty silly. After 40 years, let it go. Drop it. The victim said decades ago she wasn’t interested in pursing this.
He’s being punished just by getting chased out of the US. He’s lost no telling how many big film deals because he can’t work in Hollywood. If anything thats sweeter justice than the short term he would have served in the 1970’s.
There’s a reason France, Switzerland and now Poland refuses to extradite him. By Europe’s standards our laws are on this type of sexual assault are draconian. The US may not agree but thats the way it is.
Beats me. Ask France. They are the ones that feel our non violent sexual assault laws are excessive. Not me.
They made that decision 40 years ago when he moved there. As a French citizen he’s protected by their law. The US has raised the issue repeatedly and we’ve been told to pound sand.
I don’t want to waste time looking it up. I vaguely recall Polanski had a plea deal for a light sentence. The judge was on the verge of revoking the plea deal when Polanski hopped a plane to France. IIRC France’s decision was influenced by that legal maneuvering. They saw some injustice or something. They won’t extradite if they feel they are sending someone into a situation like that. Extradition isn’t automatic.
Feel free to research it if you want. Its been years since I read up on the case. I just know France has looked at this case repeatedly and always reached the same conclusion. So did Switzerland two years ago. So did Poland a year ago. Now the US has petitioned Poland again.
Why hasn’t Dog the Bounty Hunter gone after this guy. Seems like it would be a HUGE win for him. And it’s not like I can really see him and his wife vacationing in France, anyway.
[QUOTE=aceplace57]
By Europe’s standards our laws are on this type of sexual assault are draconian. The US may not agree but thats the way it is.
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Let’s see. Polanski, then aged 43, had sex with a girl under age 13, without her consent, after giving her drugs, and after a photo-shoot under his control. Normally, that’s rape, but he pled down to unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor.
The French Code Pénal has provisions dealing with sex with a minor without her consent, other than rape, in arts. 222-22 and following.
Under art. 222-22 of the French Code Pénal, a “Sexual aggression” is committed by an assault of a sexual nature committed by constraint of the victim.
Art. 222-22-1 of the Code provides that the constraint can be physical or “morale” (non-physical). “La contrainte morale peut résulter de la différence d’âge existant entre une victime mineure et l’auteur des faits et de l’autorité de droit ou de fait que celui-ci exerce sur cette victime.” (“Moral constraint can result from the difference in age between a minor victim and the person committing the acts and from the legal or factual authority that that person excercises on the victim.”)
By art. 222-27, the punishment for a sexual aggression other than rape is up to five years of imprisonment and a fine of up to €75,000.
By art. 222-28, paras. 3 and 8, the punishment goes up to seven years and €100,000 if the accused abuses the authority reposing in him by his position, or if the victim is clearly under the influence of stupifying products.
And by art. 222-29, the punishment goes up to seven years and €100,000 if the victim is particularly vulnerable due to her age.
The relevant California offence, unlawful sex with a minor, is found at s. 261.5 of the California Penal Code
In other words, the penalty in California is less than that in France.
Because its illegal kidnapping since he’s not a fugitive as far as Europe is concerned. Dog got in trouble for something like that which happened in Mexico, I believe.
Its worth noting Polanski’s lawyers have made repeated attempts to get this settled. Just last year I read about something that was proposed. The US has been very inflexible. Under the original plea deal IIRC Polanski would have served a very short sentence or maybe just been put under probation. 1970’s law wasn’t nearly as harsh on non violent sexual assault. He’d be tried now under the current laws. Basically a death sentence in prison for an 81 year old guy.
[QUOTE=aceplace57]
Its worth noting Polanski’s lawyers have made repeated attempts to get this settled.
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Yes, I referred to that attempt in the second link in the OP. The California courts have twice rejected his attempts to have the conviction set aside, in large part because he has fled the jurisdiction. You can’t have it both ways; you can’t ignore court orders that are against your interest, while simultaneously asking the court to rule in your favour.
That’s right. There was a plea deal and he was convicted. Then the judge seemed to be leaning towards revoking the plea deal at the sentencing hearing. Polanski had already cooperated and incriminated himself because of the plea deal.
There were some odd things about this case. Who knows, an appeal might have voided the judge’s ruling. We’ll never know since Polanski fled.
I’m pretty sure this has been a factor in Europe’s attitude towards the case. They don’t see him as a fugitive. He flys between countries frequently. He does avoid Britain.
I got one lousy thing wrong. I forgot that he had been convicted. Big deal. The crux of this case is the judge’s plan to nullify a plea deal after the defendant incriminated himself. What I got right is Europe doesn’t consider this guy a fugitive. If they did he would be yanked off a plane and arrested at an International airport.
I’ve read up on this case several times in the past twenty years. I’m not investing the time again in a 40 year old case that involves an 81 year old man.