After several tries,U.S. officials finally nab Roman Polanski in 1970s rape case

[Elano]

Three decades after he fled the United States following his arrest for unlawful sex with a 13-year-old girl, Roman Polanski was taken into custody in Zurich this morning and faces extradition to Los Angeles.

Polanski, the famed film director whose career continued to flourish even after fleeing for Europe, was arrested as he arrived in the Swiss city to accept an award at the Zurich Film Festival.

The Los Angeles County district attorney’s office learned last week that Polanski had plans to travel to Zurich this weekend, said Sandi Gibbons, spokeswoman for the district attorney’s office.

Prosecutors sent a provisional arrest warrant to the U.S. Justice Department, which presented it to  Swiss authorities. On at least two previous occasions, the district attorney’s office has received reports that Polanski had travel arrangements to countries with extradition treaties with the U.S. and prepared paperwork for his arrest, Gibbons said.
“But in the end, he apparently found out about it and didn’t go,” she said.

A source familiar with the investigation told The Times that the U.S. Marshals Service had come close to arresting Polanski half a dozen times or so over the past few decades -- though several of those opportunities presented themselves in the last two years.

"For one reason or another, it just didn't work out," said the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the case was ongoing. "There are so many variables."

The source said Polanski always was very careful about when and where he traveled. But as new questions arose in recent years about the fairness of his case, the source said Polanski appeared to become more at ease about travel.

Thomas Hession, head of the Marshals Service's  Los Angeles office, would not comment on specifics of the case but said authorities moved quickly on each lead. "Any time information was developed, the L.A. County district attorney's office and the Marshals Service immediately acted on it."

Asked if prosecutors would ask that Polanski be sentenced to time behind bars if he were returned to the U.S., Gibbons said, “We’ve always maintained this is a matter between Polanski and the court. … We initially recommended prison time for him, but I can’t see into the future.”

An attorney for Polanski, Chad Hummel, declined to comment. “Right now, we’re not in a position to say anything,” he said.

Polanski, now 76 and a married father of two, asked the court to throw out the entire case based on new allegations of prosecutorial and judicial misconduct detailed in an HBO documentary last year. The L.A. district attorney’s office argued that he could not make such a request while a fugitive, and an L.A. judge earlier this year agreed. A 1997 attempt at settling the case also failed.

Polanski was arrested 31 years ago at a Beverly Hills hotel after a 13-year-old girl accused him of sexually assaulting her during a photo shoot at actor Jack Nicholson's house.

A 1978 arrest warrant, issued after he failed to appear at his sentencing on the statutory-rape conviction, is still in effect, and he would be taken into custody upon arrival on U.S. soil. The director of "Chinatown" and "Rosemary's Baby" has not returned to the U.S. since then but continues to work as a director, winning an Oscar for "The Pianist."

Polanski’s stay in Switzerland could be brief if he opts to return to Los Angeles.

“If he agrees with an extradition, he could be sent to the U.S. in the next days,” said Guido Ballmer, a spokesman for the Swiss Federal Department of Justice and Police.

But if Polanski declines to come back without a fight -- perhaps a more likely scenario given his three decades as a fugitive -- the court process could be quite lengthy, Ballmer told The Times.

The appeals process has several layers and could last months, if not longer.
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Roman Polanski could remain in Switzerland for months if he decides to fight extradition to Los Angeles, where he faces a rape conviction.

The film director has eluded U.S. capture for 30 years. A 1978 arrest warrant, issued after he failed to appear at his sentencing on the statutory rape conviction, is still in effect. The director of "Chinatown" and "Rosemary's Baby" has not returned to the U.S. since then but continues to work as a director.

If he continues to fight, the court process could be quite lengthy, said Guido Ballmer, a spokesman for the Swiss Federal Department of Justice and Police.

In that case, Ballmer said, U.S. authorities have 60 days to file formal papers requesting his extradition. Polanski can ask the Federal Penal Court of Justice to reject those papers and, if he is denied, appeal to a higher court, the Federal Court of Justice.

If he is denied there and ordered extradited, he can appeal that decision to the two courts again. Ballmer said it was impossible to estimate how long Polanski’s case could take.

Unlike in the U.S., however, any legal wrangling in Switzerland would take place outside of public view.

“There is certainly no public court meeting. It’s basically paperwork. The judges are talking to lawyers, to Mr. Polanski as well,” Ballmer said.

Despite the layered appeals process, Switzerland has extradited fugitives to the U.S. before. In 2005, the government sent a former Russian nuclear minister to the United States to face charges of stealing $9 million in American aid that was supposed to be spent on improving safety at Russian nuclear plants. That process took five months.

It is still possible the director will opt to allow extradition. “If he agrees with an extradition, he could be sent to the U.S. in the next days,” Ballmer said.

[Sikotic™]

It took them long enough.

[C-BLUE]

why do i have a feeling that the real crook here is...

[Elano]

why do i have a feeling that the real crook here is...

he's the number 1 sinner in hollywood no doubt 

[Priest]

It boggles my mind how some people in hollywood are trying to ride with this dude,i mean have they forgotten that he raped a 13 year old girl?

[QuietTruth]

^ For real. He forcibly anally sodomized a 13 year old child??

and let him get a taste of his own medicine.

[C-BLUE]

what did he exactly do...fucc her in the ass?

[Sikotic™]

It boggles my mind how some people in hollywood are trying to ride with this dude,i mean have they forgotten that he raped a 13 year old girl?

Because they're fuckin scum. Despite fucking a 13 year old, he lived a good life for the past 30 years. Now his time is up.

Time for you to get fucked now Polanski.

[QuietTruth]

what did he exactly do...fucc her in the ass?

The records of what the girl says is disgusting. Don't know where to find them, but it's gross.

This guy better get his 100 years that he deserved.

[QuietTruth]

And how you allow this shit to happen in your home???


Shit, I woulda went lookin' out for this man my damn self. What did Jack Nicholson have to say for himself?

[herpes]

I don't understand why half of hollywood is defending this guy.

[Sikotic™]

I don't understand why half of hollywood is defending this guy.

They're fags.

[Priest]

First france comes out and says that they're not happy about polanski being arrested,now this:

Filmmakers demand Polanski's release

http://www.cnn.com/2009/SHOWBIZ/Movies/09/29/polanski.filmmakers.protest/index.html

[C-BLUE]

allright I found the indictment news.findlaw.com/hdocs/docs/polanski/capolansk31977iind.pdf. Looks like he ate her pussy out and then fucced her pussy like a madman. Yeah and he also drugged her and gave her booze. It's funny how many people support this nigga. Even Scorsese. I'm not surprised Woody Allen supports him though. Isn't he still fuccin his daughter?

[Elano]

What did Jack Nicholson have to say for himself?

I don't think Nicholson is involved....