Roman Polanski Debacle

[FoolKiller]

OK, I just really want to make sure I am not taking crazy pills on this one.

Roman Polanski has been found guilty of the crime of unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor, aka statutory rape. This was pled down from rape and sodomy. As I understand it, he pled guilty after he was charged for photographing a 13-year-old girl nude, then plying her with alcohol and drugs, and then raped and sodomized her while she asked him to stop. All in 1978. After the trial and awaiting sentencing he ran to France, where he has been hiding ever since and they haven't been willing to extradite him back to the US. While there he continued to make, supposedly, good movies. Recently he was arrested in Switzerland and is awaiting extradition to the US. So, hooray for justice, right? I mean, he pled guilty and it seems pretty obvious he has yet to serve his punishment.

But I found myself a bit shocked to see how Hollywood reacted to this news.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/...erg-says-director-didnt-commit-rape-rape.html

Whoopi Goldberg is facing a fierce backlash after saying that film director Roman Polanski didn't commit "rape-rape" when he had unlawful sex with a 13-year-old girl.
By Nick Allen
Published: 7:30AM BST 30 Sep 2009

Goldberg, star of The Color Purple and Sister Act, said: "I know it wasn't rape-rape. I think it was something else, but I don't believe it was rape-rape.

"He pled guilty to having sex with a minor and he went to jail, and when they let him out he said 'You know what, this guy's going to give me 100 years in jail. I'm not staying'. And that's why he left." Polanski was arrested in Zurich, Switzerland on Sunday and faces extradition to the United States. He fled the US in 1978 before being sentenced for the crime and has been pursued around the globe by prosecutors ever since.

The director originally faced charges including rape and sodomy but they were dismissed following plea bargaining and he admitted unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor.

More than 100 film industry figures have now signed a petition calling for the release of Polanski, the acclaimed director of Chinatown, Rosemary's Baby and The Pianist.

They include leading Hollywood figures Martin Scorcese, Woody Allen, David Lynch, Wim Wenders, Pedro Almodovar, Tilda Swinton and Monica Bellucci.

One celebrity supporter, the actress Debra Winger, said it was a "three-decades-old case that is dead but for minor technicalities. We stand by him and await his release and his next masterpiece." Movie mogul Harvey Weinstein said Polanski was a "humanist" who had been the victim of a "miscarriage of justice". He said: "We will have to speak to our leaders, particularly in California. I'm not too shy to go and talk to the Governor of California, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and to ask him once and for all to look at this." However, the views of the Hollywood elite seemed out of step with those of ordinary Americans and they now face a backlash.

On the Los Angeles Times website only one in 30 comments from members of the public supported Polanski and most called for him to face justice.

Katie Buckland, executive director of the California Women's Law Center, said supporting Polanski's release "sends a message that the rich and powerful can get away with crimes that no one else can get away with."

Asked if the Los Angeles County district attorney's office, which is seeking Polanski's extradition, would bow to Hollywood pressure, its spokeswoman Jane Robison said simply: "No."

She said attempts to extradite Polanski would continue and there were no plans to meet with the Hollywood stars backing Polanski.

The French director Luc Besson refused to sign the petition calling for Polanski's release.

He said: "I have a lot of affection for him, he is a man that I like very much but nobody should be above the law. I don't know the details of this case, but I think that when you don't show up for trial, you are taking a risk."

Hollywood actors have signed a petition to have him released because they think this is wrong? It isn't rape-rape? No, it wasn't violent and forceful, because she was drugged!!!

Would any of them be saying this if it were their daughter? Would they be doing this if it weren't someone who is supposedly in the top of their field of work? Well, obviously Woody Allen has no issues with it, but what about the rest of them?

I mean, looking at this article, Luc Besson has the only sane statement.

Here is the petition itself, and the list of signatories as of 16 hours ago.

Petition for Roman Polanski

We have learned the astonishing news of Roman Polanski’s arrest by the Swiss police on September 26th, upon arrival in Zurich (Switzerland) while on his way to a film festival where he was due to receive an award for his career in filmmaking.

His arrest follows an American arrest warrant dating from 1978 against the filmmaker, in a case of morals.

Filmmakers in France, in Europe, in the United States and around the world are dismayed by this decision. It seems inadmissible to them that an international cultural event, paying homage to one of the greatest contemporary filmmakers, is used by the police to apprehend him.

By their extraterritorial nature, film festivals the world over have always permitted works to be shown and for filmmakers to present them freely and safely, even when certain States opposed this.

The arrest of Roman Polanski in a neutral country, where he assumed he could travel without hindrance, undermines this tradition: it opens the way for actions of which no one can know the effects.

Roman Polanski is a French citizen, a renown and international artist now facing extradition. This extradition, if it takes place, will be heavy in consequences and will take away his freedom.

Filmmakers, actors, producers and technicians—everyone involved in international filmmaking—want him to know that he has their support and friendship.

On September 16th, 2009, Mr. Charles Rivkin, the US Ambassador to France, received French artists and intellectuals at the embassy. He presented to them the new Minister Counselor for Public Affairs at the embassy, Ms Judith Baroody. In perfect French she lauded the Franco-American friendship and recommended the development of cultural relations between our two countries.

If only in the name of this friendship between our two countries, we demand the immediate release of Roman Polanski.

Follow the link for signatures.

So, am I taking crazy pills, or has Hollywood just shown that they care more about their art than serious things like rape?

 

[Joey D]

I think Hollywood has shown the more about themselves and what they do then anything else for pretty much as long as I can remember. It's nothing new or shocking to me and I fully expect more things to be said along the lines of what these stars are sayings.

 

[Pupik]

He raped a kid: A criminal who makes movies is still a criminal. And I'm sure it's a crime in most other nations, too.

I'd heard about this years ago, and I've been rather shocked nothing's become of it until now.

 

[Denur]

It is not only Hollywood that is standing up for him, but also some European goverenments (France and Poland to name a few). I guess he is a very nice guy and everyone loves him and that this very old crime of his comes as a complete surprise for many. They are in shock (as he must be with this turn of events). Once they realize what he has done, they will turn and come to see that for some crimes there is no time-limit. If he has indeed done what he is being accused of, than he needs to get a fitting punishment, no matter how nice a guy he is, nor how long ago this particular kind of crime was commited.

 

[FoolKiller]

I think Hollywood has shown the more about themselves and what they do then anything else for pretty much as long as I can remember. It's nothing new or shocking to me and I fully expect more things to be said along the lines of what these stars are sayings.

You know, looking at some of the political leaders Hollywood has supported and whatnot it occurs to me that not even mass murder can sway them.

I'd heard about this years ago, and I've been rather shocked nothing's become of it until now.

Good Morning America the other day was saying that he has avoided awards shows in places that would extradite him. There were even instances where he was supposed to show and officials went to grab him but he never turned up. US law enforcement just got lucky this time around that the Swiss government agreed to arrest him.

If he has indeed done what he is being accused of, than he needs to get a fitting punishment, no matter how nice a guy he is, nor how long ago this particular kind of crime was commited.

It isn't a question of if he did it. He pled guilty to it. The next day he was to have a sentencing hearing, where they determine what his punishment would be. He left the country before the hearing occurred. So, it isn't even a matter of if he did it, or a statute of limitations (meaning you can't prosecute or file charges after a certain amount of time has passed).



I am somewhat afraid that he will have a fancy lawyer that will manage to get the judge to grant him bail and he will be gone again.

 

[Omnis]

His movies are terrible too. Trust me, my aunt is in the film industry-- people in Hollywood are wacked. You ever wonder why the USSR lauded Hollywood for its supply of useful idiots? Well, there you go.

 

[Sureboss]

"three-decades-old case that is dead but for minor technicalities. We stand by him and await his release and his next masterpiece."

People that thick don't deserve an opinion.

There is nothing to argue with this case, he drugged and raped a 13 year old girl, how can people defend him? How can people with high level profiles and national governments (FFS!) support a person like this?

 

[FoolKiller]

Well, it looks like some of the government officials offering support for him were not representing their governments, or they are now backing off due to backlash.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/8283707.stm

The French government has dropped its public support for Roman Polanski, saying the 76-year-old director "is neither above nor beneath the law".

He is being held in Switzerland on a US arrest warrant over his conviction for unlawful sex with a 13-year-old girl.

Earlier this week, French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner called for Polanski to be freed.

Polanski, who has dual French and Polish citizenship, was arrested on Saturday when he flew into the country.

He had been due to pick up a lifetime achievement prize at the Zurich film festival.

Speaking to reporters, French government spokesman Luc Chatel 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."

Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski and his French counterpart Bernard Kouchner have written to US Secretary of State Hilary Clinton calling for Polanski to be freed.

But the Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk has distanced himself from the move by asking his ministers to show "greater restraint" in defending him.

He added that despite a "leading Polish director" being involved, it is still a "case of rape and of punishment for having sex with a child".

A member of the British parliament has called on the Council of Europe, of which he is also a member, to support Polanski's extradition to the US.

Denis MacShane said the film-maker "should be held accountable" for his actions.

Of course, Polanski's sister-in-law says it was consensual...you know, because 13-year-olds can make that choice on their own, particularly under the influence of drugs and alcohol. They make mature decisions all the time while drinking and doing drugs.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,557824,00.html

Debra Tate, the sister of Roman Polanski's second wife, actress Sharon Tate, says Polanski is brilliant and a "good guy" and she doesn't think her former brother-in-law can get a fair trial in the United States.

Tate told NBC television Wednesday that the U.S. justice system is broken.

Polanski was arrested Saturday in Zurich. The U.S. has been seeking his extradition for having sex with a 13-year-old girl in 1977.

Tate says Polanski did not forcibly have sex with the girl, calling it a "consensual matter."

 

[Denur]

...
It isn't a question of if he did it. He plead guilty to it...

That is a none-argument and you know it. He wouldn't be the first to plead guilty, under pressure, for a crime one didn't commit. Unless he came up with facts only to be known to victim and culprit, his guilty plea would not stand up in any decent court, not without hard evidence (like his DNA on the girl, but that is more for this time, when DNA can actually be tested).

I know no details of the case, but he was found guilty by a US court, so he is guilty by US law. Poor bastard. And poor girl (woman by now). I hope she is well, given the circumstances.

 

[FoolKiller]

That is a none-argument and you know it. He wouldn't be the first to plead guilty, under pressure, for a crime one didn't commit. Unless he came up with facts only to be known to victim and culprit, his guilty plea would not stand up in any decent court, not without hard evidence (like his DNA on the girl, but that is more for this time, when DNA can actually be tested).

His guilty plea would stand, because he was cutting a deal. He pled down from rape and sodomy to unlawful sex with a minor. Since he was only waiting sentencing, after a court ordered psychiatric evaluation, it means that a decent court already did accept it.

Or are you saying that a 1978 court is less decent than a 2009 one?

 

[Denur]

Or are you saying that a 1978 court is less decent than a 2009 one?

No, I just don't have a very high opinion of the US court system (or any system that uses juries). But that is a different discussion.

He plead guilty to having sex with a minor (a very minor) and without her consent, that makes it a very serious crime. I have read nowhere that he plead his innocense later on, so I take it that he really did what he pleaded to have done (and probably even more).

So, as far as I'm conserned, he can be extradited to the US and be put to the test (the fallen soap test that is).

 

[Northstar]

That is a none-argument and you know it. He wouldn't be the first to plead guilty, under pressure, for a crime one didn't commit. Unless he came up with facts only to be known to victim and culprit, his guilty plea would not stand up in any decent court, not without hard evidence (like his DNA on the girl, but that is more for this time, when DNA can actually be tested).

I know no details of the case, but he was found guilty by a US court, so he is guilty by US law. Poor bastard. And poor girl (woman by now). I hope she is well, given the circumstances.

Sorry, but with the way people on the sex offender list are treated I wouldn't plead guilty to anything that would put me there if I had a gun pointed to me. Is is possible he was pressured, sure but it is highly unlikely due to the nature of the crime.

Anyways, once he is extradited(which will probably happen) he won't get out on bail since he has ran once and wouldn't hesitate to do it again.

 

[KSaiyu]

Meh he's a paedophile in the eyes of the law and to me so the only thing he deserves is prison time.

 

[Diego440]

I certainly wouldn't say his movies are terrible. His Apartment series were pretty good. But that's not the point. If it were, we could arrest Michael Bay and McG on a variety of charges.

Not surprisingly it seems people are assuming he's innocent because he's famous and/or successful. Same thing happened with Michael Jackson's fans who supported him and said the charges were lies, even without knowing the charges. Same thing with a score of inifinite celebrities.

He broke the law, knew it and even admitted it. Little matters that the girl (woman now) who reported him asked the charges be dropped a couple of years ago. As such, he should be dealt with.

 

[opladener]

Wow, just wow.
It's absolutely disgusting how those people can even defend him.
Child abuse is one of the worst crimes i can think of, theres is no justification EVER for that.

What would those people say if the girl was one of their children ?
What irks me even more is, when some no-name rapes a child, everyone is screamin like "they should cut his d*** off" and stuff like that.

Now the offender is a celebrity and they try to play it down, like "it was so long ago", "it was consensual".

Damn this is making me angry, i wanna slap Whoopi Goldberg and all those other dumb****s in the face , HARD

 

[Pupik]

Damn this is making me angry, i wanna slap Whoopi Goldberg and all those other dumb****s in the face , HARD

Well, what was the last gig she got...A [wikipedia]Flooz[/wikipedia] commerical?

[/Ari Gold]

 

[Northstar]

She does the View, not that I would know anything about that.

 

[Joel]

Wow, this is just ridiculous. Reminds me of that scene in the crappy Rocky and Bullwinkle live action movie. The judge (who is played BY Whoppi Goldberg....creepy), puts on her glasses, recognizes the moose and squirrel, and reads, "Celebrities are ABOVE the law".

GOD that is creepy! I mean she plays the friggin' judge!

Here is the scene.

 

[SRV2LOW4ME]

I bet if he was driving around in a gas guzzling V10 single seat transport truck for the sake of doing nothing but burning gas they would throw rocks at him.

Sad, but true. Hollywood should stop snorting coke up to lose weight, its starting to effect their common sense and moral values.

 

[Omnis]

He broke the law, knew it and even admitted it. Little matters that the girl (woman now) who reported him asked the charges be dropped a couple of years ago. As such, he should be dealt with.

Well if that's the case then that changes a lot of things. If she wants the charges dropped, why is it anyone else's business? Has Roman sodomized any other girls since then?
(... Well, he was living in France.)

But he did flee after his conviction. So, if anything, I imagine he would be sentenced for that. I just have a conflict with a system that punishes people for the sake of punishing them. I think justice can only be served by the recompense of victims, not just the punishment of offenders.

 

[FoolKiller]

Well if that's the case then that changes a lot of things. If she wants the charges dropped, why is it anyone else's business? Has Roman sodomized any other girls since then?
(... Well, he was living in France.)

But he did flee after his conviction. So, if anything, I imagine he would be sentenced for that. I just have a conflict with a system that punishes people for the sake of punishing them. I think justice can only be served by the recompense of victims, not just the punishment of offenders.

He is already found guilty though. If a rape victim says that she no longer has ill will toward her attacker who has been in prison for two years should we just let him out or should he complete his sentence?

And I never heard her actually say anything about wanting the charges dropped (they aren't charges anymore, but convictions), but just that she has forgiven him and wants it to all just go away.

 

[Omnis]

Yeah, I meant he would have to be sentenced for his conviction. Sorry that that was ambiguous.

 

[Touring Mars]

It saddens me to see people like Martin Scorcese (whose films I love) and Woody Allen (of whom I've been a lifelong fan) supporting this unjustifiable and morally bankrupt cause. I can only hope that they do so only out of misguided loyalty to a friend.

 

[Northstar]

Well Woody Allen did marry his step-daughter so that shouldn't surprise you.

 

[Touring Mars]

Well Woody Allen did marry his step-daughter so that shouldn't surprise you.

Actually, he didn't. He married his former partner's step-daughter, not his step-daughter. In any case, she was 22 years old when they started seeing each other... so I don't get how Allen's own private life might make him more sympathetic to a child rapist, if that's what you are getting at.

 

[land sea air]

I know it doesn't mean much without a source besides, but I specifically remember reading in several places that she wanted the charges dropped but I imagine it's as much because after all these years of relative peace to be thrown back into the spotlight for such a thing would be horrible... It doesn't matter because he's already been convicted. I wonder how many people support him because they feel sorry about what happened to his wife? In any case I think there will be more backlash than realized against all these actors and directors (most of whom I had some measure of respect for) for supporting him.

 

[Diego440]

And I never heard her actually say anything about wanting the charges dropped (they aren't charges anymore, but convictions), but just that she has forgiven him and wants it to all just go away.

It turns out "a copuple of years ago" was only last December. I didn't have the link at hand yesterday, but here it is:

http://edition.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/01/12/polanski.case/index.html

Article:

The alleged victim in a 1977 sexual assault case against director Roman Polanski has filed court papers seeking dismissal of the charges against him. Oscar-winning director Roman Polanski has lived in exile in France since fleeing the United States in 1978.

The woman's declaration seeking dismissal was filed Monday in Los Angeles, California, in connection with Polanski's efforts to have the 31-year-old case dismissed.

Polanski, 75, has lived in exile in France since fleeing the United States in 1978 after pleading guilty to unlawful sexual intercourse. Polanski admitted to having sex with a 13-year-old girl, and an arrest warrant against him remains in effect.

In her declaration, Samantha Geimer said, "I am no longer a 13-year-old child. I have dealt with the difficulties of being a victim, have surmounted and surpassed them with one exception.

"Every time this case is brought to the attention of the Court, great focus is made of me, my family, my mother and others. That attention is not pleasant to experience and is not worth maintaining over some irrelevant legal nicety, the continuation of the case."

Geimer, who has spoken publicly about the case before, including a 2003 appearance on CNN's "Larry King Live," added, "I have survived, indeed prevailed, against whatever harm Mr. Polanski may have caused me as a child."

She chided the district attorney's office for not dismissing the case earlier and for "yet once again (giving) great publicity to the lurid details of those events, for all to read again. True as they may be, the continued publication of those details cause harm to me ... I have become a victim of the actions of the District Attorney."

The Los Angeles County District Attorney's office had no immediate response to Geimer's declaration.

Lawyers for the Oscar-winning film director filed a motion for dismissal of the sex offense case against him in December, citing what the defense called "extraordinary new evidence" of "repeated, unlawful and unethical misconduct" by the Los Angeles district attorney's office and the judge in Polanski's case.

The December motion also argued that Polanski should not be required to return to the United States to appear in court for the dismissal motion to be considered.

In her declaration, Geimer said if Polanski cannot appear in court, she will do so to seek dismissal.

"My position is absolutely clear," she said.

Polanski's motion for dismissal is scheduled for a hearing on January 21.

Polanski, a native of Poland, won the Academy Award in 2003 for his Holocaust drama, "The Pianist." Among his other films from earlier in his career are "Rosemary's Baby" and "Chinatown."

His first wife, actress Sharon Tate, was murdered by the Charles Manson family in 1969.

 

[Omnis]

Wow, what an idiot. She's not the victim of the DA, she's a victim of the press. Maybe Polanski and the debacle really did mess with her mind.

 

[FoolKiller]

Wow, what an idiot. She's not the victim of the DA, she's a victim of the press. Maybe Polanski and the debacle really did mess with her mind.

It almost sounds childish, like what a teenager would say when a parent does something to protect them but it is embarrassing. The DA is attempting to punish him for the crimes he committed against her. If she just said she wanted to leave it behind it would sound better, but getting angry at people for pursuing legitimate criminals is a bit odd.

Granted the DA is pulling the press in, but they can be a tool in apprehending a guy like this.

Part of me also wonders if she ever wanted him to get in trouble. Did her mom report him while she just sat there feeling embarrassed? And has that been how she has felt her entire life?