Roman Polanski may finally face charges for an alleged crime he's been avoiding prosecution from for 32 years, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Roman Polanski may finally face charges for an alleged crime he's been avoiding prosecution from for 32 years, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
The Oscar-winning director was arrested Saturday in Switzerland where he planned to receive a lifetime achievement award at the Zurich Film Festival. Polanski, who has lived in exile in France to avoid arrest, has traveled to Switzerland in the past without incident. Polanski's lawyers are now fighting plans to extradite him to the United States -- a matter that could be taken up by the Swiss supreme court before it's fully resolved.
Following Polanski's arrest, the Zurich Film Festival canceled the ceremony and condemned the arrest.
Polanski was accused of drugging and and performing sex acts with a 13-year-old girl in 1977 during a photo shoot at actor Jack Nicholson's home in Hollywood. At the time, Polanski insisted the sex was consensual, although he still pleaded guilty to a single count of having unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor.
Polanski fled the United States before he could be sentenced and U.S. authorities issued a warrant for his arrest soon after.
Earlier this year, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Peter Espinoza acknowledged there was "substantial misconduct" in the original case against Polanski and gave him until May 7 to appear in his court to pursue a filing that could have seen the charges dismissed. Polanski never appeared and the judge refused to throw out the case.
