Lawyer: Polanski will fight extradition to the U.S.

aware the judge would sentence him to more prison time, Polanski fled to France.

Sounds to me like he broke the law and admitted it. Time for jail.

If Polanski is allowed to get away with this what message will it send to victims of rape. That if you are really rich and famous you don't need to follow the law. This guy drug and raped a 13 year old girl and split to Europe during which time he has been living large. Jail his ass

He should just go back to LA and get it over with. It sounds like people in Los Angeles are even wondering why they are still going after him, the victim doesn't want to go forward with the case, etc. I can't imagine he'll get any real jail time especially if people now know there was something fishy going on with the judge in the original case. He'd probably spend less time in jail in LA than he will in detention waiting for extradition.

All those years ago, Polanski committed to a plea bargain in which he pleaded guilty to at least one of the charges against him. He then skipped the country. What is the argument here? Under the terms of the law, he is a convicted person who has fled the jurisdiction in question. As such, he should be dragged back to the US for his day in court.

Indeed, I really cannot understand what the fuss is all about. We are talking about Roman Polanski, fugitive, not Roman Polanski, movie director. God, people get picked up all the time for doing a runner. Why should this chap get any special treatment?

Mitterrand added that both he and French President Nicolas Sarkozy hoped for a "rapid resolution to the situation which would allow Roman Polanski to rejoin his family as quickly as possible."

Indeed why is this truly sick guy getting such special treatment. I wonder what is so special about him...

I wonder how many girls he did the same to in Europe. Child molesters can not be rehabbed from what I read. He should have been sent back immediately after landing in Europe.

“(He has) atoned for the sins of his young years,” Jacek Bromski, head of the Polish Filmmakers Association, told The AP. “He has paid for it by not being able to enter the U.S. and in his professional life he has paid for it by not being able to make films in Hollywood.”

Umm. . . For the rape of a 13-year old girl? No, I don't think so.

This story's been bouncing around in the back of my mind for the past couple of days, and the more I think about it, the more I understand the need to prosecute this jackass. I truly sympathize with the victim for having to go through the unwanted publicity again, but I also see a need for society to police itself that goes beyond the immediate needs of the victim here.

Rape, much less rape of a child, is not something that one should be able to buy one’s way out of via private monetary settlement. It’s not a crime for which one should be able to hide from indefinitely, particularly after guilt has been established. It doesn’t expire or have a statute of limitations.

Polanski not only broke the law, but also did it in a way that would provoke public outrage and lynch mobs if it happened today. Imagine if this story were about, say, Steven Spielberg raping a 13-year old. That he’s a celebrated director should in no way absolve him of his crimes, much less allow him the luxury of being held to different standards.

That this crime happened 30 years ago also doesn’t lessen the horrific nature of it (essentially the ‘70s precursor to date rape via drugging the victim). Part of me also suspects that some of the resistance to prosecuting Polanski comes from a certain degree of believing the victim had it coming, by virtue of a) simply being there, b) being a model, c) being anywhere in Hollywood, or d) all of the above.

However, at the end of the day, she was still a 13-year old girl who was raped by a 40-year-old man. And that 40-year-old, regardless of profession, regardless of prosecutor malfeasance, admitted his guilt in no uncertain terms, then fled the country to avoid facing the consequences of those actions.

Polanski is no better than the rest of us. If anything, because of his public visibility, he should adhere to a higher standard. He needs to give up this resistance to prosecution and stand trial.

Good post LFR.

“He was shocked, dumbfounded, but he is in a fighting mood and he is very determined to defend himself.”

Defend himself from what? He already pled guilty to the rape charges. Is he going to contest that he didn't actually flee from his sentence by unlawfully leaving the country? Now that, I'd like to see.

It's a big discussion in mass media about the case here in Switzerland. While the usual people find it good, that he's arrested, the celebrities and artists are upset. Another typical moment, why I'll never believe or trust or look up (politician and riches as well) to celebrities...