Polish-French filmmaker Roman Polanski continues to face charges of sex crimes. There is a new court decision against the director.
Los Angeles – The US judiciary has been investigating director Roman Polanski (88, “The Pianist”) for more than 40 years for a sexual offence. Now a court in Los Angeles has made another decision against the Polish-French filmmaker.
A previously unpublished earlier statement transcript remains under lock and key by order of the judge, as reported by the industry journal Deadline.com.
Two US journalists had demanded that an earlier testimony by then-US Attorney Roger Gunson, who led the 1977 abuse trial against Polanski, be released. Gunson is said to have made important statements in 2010 that could support Polanski’s plea that he had already served his sentence in the United States. A judge had already voted against the disclosure of the documents in 2017.
The court’s recent cancellation did not surprise him, said Polanski’s lawyer, Harland Braun, in a statement to the German Press Agency. The judges are under pressure to cover decades of misconduct by former colleagues. Braun said he would appeal the decision.
Polanski admitted in 1977 to having had sex with a 13-year-old girl, but denied the allegation of rape. He spent several weeks in a detention center under psychiatric observation. In return for his confession, the judge at the time wanted to refrain from a longer prison sentence. Immediately before the sentencing, however, there were doubts about this promise, Polanski fled to France and has never set foot in the USA since.
The US court has repeatedly demanded the extradition of the star director. Polanski’s lawyers, on the other hand, are campaigning for an end to the prosecution. Polanski’s victim, a 58-year-old American woman, has publicly stated several times that she did not want to take action against the director. dpa
