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Message: <blockquote data-quote="AtulaSiriwardane" data-source="post: 5630773" data-attributes="member: 120286">Sex crime conviction In 1977, Polanski, then aged 44, became embroiled in a scandal involving 13-year-old Samantha Gailey (now Samantha Geimer). It ultimately led to Polanski's <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guilty_plea" target="_blank">guilty plea</a> to the charge of unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_Polanski#cite_note-test1-32" target="_blank">[33]</a><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_Polanski#cite_note-Broadsheet-33" target="_blank">[34]</a> According to Geimer, Polanski asked Geimer's mother if he could photograph the girl for the French edition of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vogue_%28magazine%29" target="_blank">Vogue</a>, which Polanski had been invited to guest-edit. Her mother allowed a private photo shoot. According to Geimer in a 2003 interview, "Everything was going fine; then he asked me to change, well, in front of him." She added, "It didn't feel right, and I didn't want to go back to the second shoot."<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_Polanski#cite_note-Broadsheet-33" target="_blank">[34]</a> Geimer later agreed to a second session, which took place on March 10, 1977 at the home of actor <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Nicholson" target="_blank">Jack Nicholson</a> in the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mulholland_Drive" target="_blank">Mulholland area</a> of Los Angeles. "We did photos with me drinking champagne," Geimer says. "Toward the end it got a little scary, and I realized he had other intentions and I knew I was not where I should be. I just didn't quite know how to get myself out of there." She recalled in a 2003 interview that she began to feel uncomfortable after he asked her to lie down on a bed, and how she attempted to resist. "I said, 'No, no. I don't want to go in there. No, I don't want to do this. No!', and then I didn't know what else to do," she stated, adding: "We were alone and I didn’t know what else would happen if I made a scene. So I was just scared, and after giving some resistance, I figured well, I guess I’ll get to come home after this".<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_Polanski#cite_note-34" target="_blank">[35]</a> Geimer testified that Polanski gave her a combination of champagne and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Methaqualone" target="_blank">quaaludes</a>,<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_Polanski#cite_note-35" target="_blank">[36]</a> a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sedative" target="_blank">sedative</a> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drug" target="_blank">drug</a>, and "despite her protests, he performed oral sex, intercourse and sodomy on her",<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_Polanski#cite_note-autogenerated1-36" target="_blank">[37]</a><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_Polanski#cite_note-37" target="_blank">[38]</a><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_Polanski#cite_note-38" target="_blank">[39]</a> each time after being told 'no' and being asked to stop.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_Polanski#cite_note-39" target="_blank">[40]</a><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_Polanski#cite_note-40" target="_blank">[41]</a><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_Polanski#cite_note-41" target="_blank">[42]</a><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_Polanski#cite_note-42" target="_blank">[43]</a> Charges and guilty plea Polanski was initially charged<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_Polanski#cite_note-43" target="_blank">[44]</a> with <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rape" target="_blank">rape</a> by use of drugs, perversion, sodomy, lewd and lascivious act upon a child under 14, and furnishing a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Controlled_substance" target="_blank">controlled substance</a> (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Methaqualone" target="_blank">methaqualone</a>) to a minor. These charges were dismissed under the terms of his <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plea_bargain" target="_blank">plea bargain</a>, and he pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of engaging in unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_Polanski#cite_note-test11-44" target="_blank">[45]</a> Under the terms of the plea agreement, according to the documentary <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_Polanski:_Wanted_and_Desired" target="_blank">Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired</a>, the court ordered Polanski to report to a state prison for a 90-day psychiatric evaluation, but granted a stay of ninety days to allow him to complete his current project. Under the terms set by the court, he was permitted to travel abroad. Polanski returned to California and reported to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chino_State_Prison" target="_blank">Chino State Prison</a> for the evaluation period, and was released after 42 days. All parties expected Polanski to get only <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Probation" target="_blank">probation</a> at the subsequent sentencing hearing, but after an alleged conversation with LA Deputy District Attorney David Wells, the judge "suggested to Polanski's attorneys that he would send the director to prison and order him deported".<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_Polanski#cite_note-45" target="_blank">[46]</a> In response to the threat of imprisonment, Polanski fled the United States. Polanski fled initially to London on February 1, 1978, where he maintained residency. A day later he traveled on to France, where he held <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citizenship" target="_blank">citizenship</a>, avoiding the risk of extradition to the U.S. by Britain. Consistent with its <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extradition" target="_blank">extradition</a> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty" target="_blank">treaty</a> with the United States, France can refuse to extradite its own citizens, and an extradition request later filed by U.S. officials was denied. The United States government could have requested that Polanski be prosecuted on the California charges by the French authorities.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_Polanski#cite_note-test13-46" target="_blank">[47]</a> Polanski has never returned to England, and later sold his home there. The United States could still request the arrest and extradition of Polanski from other countries should he visit them, and Polanski avoided visits to countries (such as the UK) that were likely to extradite him and mostly travelled and works in France, Germany, the Czech Republic and Poland. In a 2003 interview,<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_Polanski#cite_note-test14-47" target="_blank">[48]</a> Samantha Geimer said, "Straight up, what he did to me was wrong. But I wish he would return to America so the whole ordeal can be put to rest for both of us." Furthermore, "I'm sure if he could go back, he wouldn't do it again. He made a terrible mistake but he's paid for it." In 2008, Geimer stated in an interview that she wishes Polanski would be forgiven, "I think he's sorry, I think he knows it was wrong. I don't think he's a danger to society. I don't think he needs to be locked up forever and no one has ever come out ever — besides me — and accused him of anything. It was 30 years ago now. It's an unpleasant memory ... (but) I can live with it."<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_Polanski#cite_note-48" target="_blank">[49]</a> In 2008, a documentary film of the aftermath of the incident, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_Polanski:_Wanted_and_Desired" target="_blank">Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired</a>, premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. Following review of the film, Polanski's attorney, Douglas Dalton, contacted the Los Angeles district attorney's office about prosecutor David Wells' role in coaching the trial judge, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laurence_J._Rittenband" target="_blank">Laurence J. Rittenband</a>. Based on statements by Wells included in the film, Polanski and Dalton sought review of whether the prosecutor acted illegally and engaged in malfeasance in interfering with the operation of the trial.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_Polanski#cite_note-49" target="_blank">[50]</a> However, after Polanski's arrest, David Wells recanted his statements in the film saying that he lied and "tried to butter up the story to make me look better".<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_Polanski#cite_note-50" target="_blank">[51]</a> In December 2008, Polanski's lawyer in the United States filed a request to Judge David S. Wesley to have the case dismissed on the grounds of judicial and prosecutorial misconduct. The filing says that Judge Rittenband (now deceased) violated the plea bargain by keeping in communication about the case with a deputy district attorney who was not involved. These activities were depicted in Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_Polanski#cite_note-51" target="_blank">[52]</a> In January 2009, Polanski's lawyer filed a further request to have the case dismissed, and to have the case moved out of Los Angeles, as the Los Angeles courts require him to appear before the court for any sentencing or dismissal, and Polanski did not intend to appear. In February 2009, Polanski's request was tentatively denied by Judge Peter Espinoza, who said that he would make a ruling if Polanski appeared in court.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_Polanski#cite_note-cnn2009feb-52" target="_blank">[53]</a><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_Polanski#cite_note-53" target="_blank">[54]</a> The same month, Samantha Geimer filed to have the charges against Polanski dismissed from court, saying that decades of publicity as well as the prosecutor's focus on lurid details continues to traumatize her and her family.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_Polanski#cite_note-geimerdismissal-54" target="_blank">[55]</a> There is no <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Statute_of_limitations" target="_blank">statute of limitations</a> governing the case because Polanski had already been charged and pleaded guilty in 1978 to having had unlawful sex with a minor.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_Polanski#cite_note-55" target="_blank">[56]</a> A complicating issue for resolution of the case is that <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Failure_to_appear" target="_blank">failure to appear</a> is in itself a crime. As <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Southern_California" target="_blank">University of Southern California</a> law professor Jean Rosenbluth noted: "The complication is that it is a separate offense to flee the jurisdiction."<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_Polanski#cite_note-56" target="_blank">[57]</a> Arrest in Zürich Main article: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2009_arrest_of_Roman_Polanski" target="_blank">2009 arrest of Roman Polanski</a> On September 26, 2009, Polanski was arrested by Swiss police at <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Z%C3%BCrich_Airport" target="_blank">Zürich Airport</a> while trying to enter <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Switzerland" target="_blank">Switzerland</a>, in relation to his outstanding 1978 U.S. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arrest_warrant" target="_blank">arrest warrant</a>. Polanski had hoped to attend the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zurich_Film_Festival" target="_blank">Zurich Film Festival</a> to receive a Lifetime Achievement Award.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_Polanski#cite_note-57" target="_blank">[58]</a><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_Polanski#cite_note-58" target="_blank">[59]</a> The arrest followed a request by the United States that Switzerland apprehend Polanski. U.S. investigators had learned of his planned trip several days earlier, which had given them enough time to negotiate with Swiss authorities and lay the groundwork for an arrest. The United States had been seeking his arrest and extradition worldwide since 2005. While there had been a U.S. arrest warrant for him since 1978 and he had been on the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interpol" target="_blank">Interpol</a> "red notice" wanted list for several years,<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_Polanski#cite_note-59" target="_blank">[60]</a> an international arrest warrant was issued in 2005. The United States must make a formal extradition request within 40 days to have Polanski extradited and stand trial.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_Polanski#cite_note-60" target="_blank">[61]</a> The <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_Department_of_Justice_and_Police" target="_blank">Swiss Justice Ministry</a> said Polanski was put "in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Provisional_detention" target="_blank">provisional detention</a>." An arrest warrant or extradition to the United States could be subject to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judicial_review" target="_blank">judicial review</a> by the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_Criminal_Court_of_Switzerland" target="_blank">Federal Criminal Court</a> (Bundesstrafgericht) and then the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_Supreme_Court_of_Switzerland" target="_blank">Federal Supreme Court</a> (Bundesgericht), according to a ministry spokesman.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_Polanski#cite_note-61" target="_blank">[62]</a> Polanski announced that he intends to appeal extradition and hired lawyer <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lorenz_Erni" target="_blank">Lorenz Erni</a> to represent him.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_Polanski#cite_note-62" target="_blank">[63]</a><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_Polanski#cite_note-Swissinfo_2009-09-28-63" target="_blank">[64]</a> In reaction to the arrest, the foreign ministers of both France and Poland urged Switzerland to release Polanski, who holds <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dual_citizenship" target="_blank">dual citizenship</a> of both countries.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_Polanski#cite_note-WaPo_2009-09-29-64" target="_blank">[65]</a> On 29 September, Poland's Prime Minister <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Tusk" target="_blank">Donald Tusk</a> responded to early reactions by urging his Cabinet ministers to exercise calm and reminding them that it is a "case of rape and of punishment for having sex with a child."<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_Polanski#cite_note-65" target="_blank">[66]</a> On 30 September, the French government dropped its public support for Polanski, on the grounds that he was not "above the law." Government spokesman <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luc_Chatel" target="_blank">Luc Chatel</a> said: "We have a judicial procedure under way, for a serious affair, the rape of a minor, on which the American and Swiss legal systems are doing their job," adding: "One can understand the emotion that this belated arrest, more than 30 years after the incident, and the method of the arrest, have caused."<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_Polanski#cite_note-66" target="_blank">[67]</a> Legal actions On September 30, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_New_York_Times" target="_blank">The New York Times</a> reported that Steptoe & Johnson’s Reid Weingarten, a well-known criminal defense lawyer and allegedly a close friend of Attorney General <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eric_Holder" target="_blank">Eric Holder</a>, had been hired by Polanski for his defense.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_Polanski#cite_note-67" target="_blank">[68]</a><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_Polanski#cite_note-68" target="_blank">[69]</a></blockquote>

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