Roman Polanski Arrested in Switzerland
[Guest post by DRJ]
Director Roman Polanski was arrested in Switzerland after he flew in to attend the Zurich Film Festival:
“Polanski was scheduled to receive an honorary award at the festival when he was apprehended Saturday at the airport, the Swiss Justice Ministry said in a statement. It said U.S. authorities have sought the arrest of the 76-year-old director around the world since 2005.
“There was a valid arrest request and we knew when he was coming,” ministry spokesman Guido Balmer told The Associated Press. “That’s why he was taken into custody.”
Polanski is wanted because he fled the U.S. in 1978 after pleading guilty to unlawful sexual intercourse with a 13-year-old girl, although he was originally charged with rape, sodomy, child molestation and giving drugs to a minor. As Patterico noted earlier this year, Bill Wyman wrote the definitive fisking of Roman Polanski apologists here.
UPDATE BY PATTERICO: I suppose we’re in for a lot of handwringing about poor Mr. Polanski, along these lines:
In Paris, Culture Minister Frederic Mitterrand said he was “dumbfounded” by Polanski’s arrest, adding that he “strongly regrets that a new ordeal is being inflicted on someone who has already experienced so many of them.
Those comments referred to the fact that Polanski, a native of France who was taken to Poland by his parents, escaped Krakow’s Jewish ghetto as a child and lived off the charity of strangers. His mother died at the Auschwitz Nazi death camp.
As Bill Wyman said in the piece linked by DRJ:
Polanski has had a wrenching life, of course, but it is overplayed in “Wanted and Desired” [a documentary about the case]. I think it’s true to say that there are many people who survived the Holocaust who don’t drug and rape children, for example.
Will media accounts point out that Polanski was treated differently because of his wealth and fame? He got a lenient plea deal largely because the prosecution was worried about the girl’s willingness to testify in the face of international publicity surrounding a trial in which Polanski’s team planned to paint her as a 13-year-old harlot — an example of fame stacking the deck. And that victim now supports dismissal of the case . . . now that she has settled a civil suit with him for an undisclosed amount — an example of wealth stacking the deck.
I suspect that we won’t see much mention of any of those facts.
UPDATE x2 BY PATTERICO: I think from now on, for the benefit of people who aren’t aware of it, I will have to include the following passage from the victim’s grand jury testimony in my posts about Polanski. It gets pretty rough since it’s a 13-year-old girl talking about the details of Roman Polanski forcibly having anal sex with her and ejaculating in her anus, so if that’s a bit much for you, back out now:
A. Then he lifted up my legs and went in through my anus.
Q. What do you mean by that?
A. He put his penis in my butt.
. . . .
Q. Do you know whether he had a climax?
A. Yes.
Q. And how do you know that?
A. Because I could kind of feel it and it was in my underwear. It was in my underwear. It was on my butt and stuff.
Q. When you say that, you believe that he climaxed in your anus?
A. Yes.
Q. What does climax mean?
A. That his semen came out.
Q. Do you know what semen is?
A. Yes.
Q. Did you see some semen or feel some semen?
A. I felt it.
Q. Where did you feel it?
A. I felt it on the back of my behind and in my underwear when I put them on.
Yes, by all means, shed a tear — but not for Roman Polanski. For the 13-year-old girl.
Standard disclaimer here.
Here’s where we find out that the whining from Hollywood can go to eleven.
M. Scott Eiland (c552ec) — 9/27/2009 @ 12:47 pmDRJ, your Bill Wyman link does not go the article that you referenced.
BTW, I always think that it is unfortunate that the excellent fisking was written by someone with the name Bill Wyman. Another, more famous Bill Wyman was also involved in a scandalous relationship with an underaged girl back in the 80s.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1189753/If-happened-Bill-jail-Mandy-Smith-Rolling-Stone-seduced-her.html
[Gazzer — The link works for me (here it is again) but maybe Patterico fixed it after I posted. In any event, thanks for noting it. — DRJ]
Gazzer (22ecdc) — 9/27/2009 @ 1:11 pmPass the popcorn. This should get interesting.
daleyrocks (718861) — 9/27/2009 @ 1:22 pmGazzer if you click on the Patterico link in the last paragraph prior to the first update you will be able click thru to the Wayman article.
BT (78b929) — 9/27/2009 @ 1:52 pm“Officials” in both Poland and France are outraged. However, just this week Poland announced plans to chemically castrate pedophiles
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/poland/3084770/Poland-to-enforce-chemical-castration-of-paedophiles.html
I guess they meant only the non-famous ones…
Gazzer (22ecdc) — 9/27/2009 @ 1:58 pmIn Paris, Culture Minister Frederic Mitterrand said he was “dumbfounded” by Polanski’s arrest, adding that he “strongly regrets that a new ordeal is being inflicted on someone who has already experienced so many of them.
Has Culture Minister Mitterrand observed the blunt irony that Polanski, who had suffered great ordeals in his own life, freely and willingly *chose* to inflict an even worse ordeal upon an innocent child’s life? I suspect he’s overlooked this.
Dana (863a65) — 9/27/2009 @ 2:06 pmSo, is he going to be Obama’s first pardon?
The Lightworker owes Hollywood big time.
Techie (482700) — 9/27/2009 @ 2:14 pmI used to be somewhat sypathetic to Polanski, but after reviewing exactly what he did to that poor girl, my memory was obviously faulty way back then.
Dmac (b905fa) — 9/27/2009 @ 2:29 pmSo, is he going to be Obama’s first pardon?
The conviction wasn’t for a federal crime, so The One can’t do diddley squat. Polanski would have to look to The Governator for any pardon.
M. Scott Eiland (c552ec) — 9/27/2009 @ 2:48 pmI don’t know, somehow I have a feeling the Swiss judicial system is a lot like Aruba’s. They’ll go through the motions, have a few hearings, pontificate a while but end up just letting him go.
jimboster (fe0b27) — 9/27/2009 @ 3:00 pmHistorically prison movies have been big money makers. Mr. Polanski should view this as a teaching moment and opportunity to gain first hand (or, whatever hand happens to be doing the teaching) experience in the genre.
Huey (b957d9) — 9/27/2009 @ 4:28 pmWill Robert Redford, Oliver Stone, or Susan Sarandon come to the rescue?
BT (78b929) — 9/27/2009 @ 4:33 pmWill Robert Redford, Oliver Stone, or Susan Sarandon come to the rescue?
I think all those protesters in Pittsburgh need something to do this week. Redford, Stone and Sarandon are too good to do the actual protesting beyond a 2 hour hunger strike between breakfast and lunch. So they can just hire the anarchists.
Of course the anarchists are probably on a higher moral plane than Polanski but I’m sure they’ll do anything to avoid getting a real job.
MU789 (a3ddcc) — 9/27/2009 @ 5:16 pm“Director Roman Polanski was arrested in Switzerland…”
About time.
Dave Surlsc (cafb98) — 9/27/2009 @ 6:32 pmIf this is not the first time RP traveled to Switzerland since 2005 perhaps it is an indication that Obama actually can accomplish something in foreign relations. If that is the case too bad the gesture had to come on such a minor issue.
Soronel Haetir (2b4c2b) — 9/27/2009 @ 8:59 pm[…] several other charges, including rape and sodomy.” He and a co-blogger remind us of the graphic details of the case, which belie the notion that Polanski is some sort of victim. Let’s just say that […]
Roman Polanski Arrested, Fighting Extradition (139676) — 9/28/2009 @ 4:55 am[…] Ha. If he weren’t famous, he never would have gotten a slap on the wrist for anally raping a 13-year-old girl. […]
Patterico’s Pontifications » WaPo’s Anne Applebaum Botches the Facts as She Whines About Polanski (e4ab32) — 9/28/2009 @ 7:34 am[…] dismiss several other charges, including rape and sodomy.” He and a co-blogger remind us of the graphic details of the case, which belie the notion that Polanski is some sort of victim. Let’s just say that the […]
Fausta’s Blog » Blog Archive » What the WaPo didn’t say about the Polanski apologist (a98aa5) — 9/28/2009 @ 8:41 am[…] dismiss several other charges, including rape and sodomy.” He and a co-blogger remind us of the graphic details of the case, which belie the notion that Polanski is some sort of victim. Let’s just say that the […]
We Stay On The Subject Of The Mainstream Media And In The WaPo Offices For Yet Another Blogger Ethics Panel « Around The Sphere (054690) — 9/28/2009 @ 12:19 pm[…] – and that includes his surviving the Holocaust! And if you don’t believe me, read this bit of testimony from Polanski’s victim. Megan McArdle linked to it earlier (warning it is most definitely not […]
Vile, Offensive, and Unquestionably Criminal « Questing for Atlantis (70d8ca) — 9/28/2009 @ 7:14 pmI can’t understand why we all have mandatory “sexual harassment” training, but if you rape a 13 year old and you’re a Hollywood hero. Do women who where short skirts and tight shirts “have it coming,” too? The hypocrisy is absurd. John Edwards was right, there are 2 Americas!
Can't Understand Libs (c549bd) — 9/28/2009 @ 9:29 pmDefinition of irony:
Polish foreign minister Radosław Sikorski has written to US Secretary of State Hilary Clinton for her support on the case of the Polish-born filmaker Roman Polanski.
Under the law, sponsored by Poland’s centre-right government, paedophiles convicted of raping children under the age of 15 years or a close relative would have to undergo chemical therapy on their release from prison.
http://www.reuters.com/article/latestCrisis/idUSLP481286
Krystof Zmudzinski (585688) — 9/29/2009 @ 10:09 amAny chance that the Swiss offered up Polanski to get the IRS off of their backs regarding the illegal tax shelters by UBS and other Swiss banks?
I can’t believe that the Obami would be all that interested in pursuing Polanski and I can’t imagine that this is the first time that Polanski has traveled to Switzerland since 2005.
So why now? And what does Switzerland get out of it?
Scott (9cd0bb) — 9/29/2009 @ 10:27 amThere’s another story buried here.
Let’s look at Polanski in 1977 from a 13 year old girl’s point of view.
At that time, Polanski was a hot relatively young Hollywood director. In Sharon Tate’s murder, he had an incredibly sympathetic story. I suspect that “parents were sent to a concentration camp, where mother died” and “survived Nazis” also help.
The only thing missing is a unicorn. (Being a vampire would trump the unicorn today.)
Given Polanski’s circumstance, he had to be pretty pathetic if he needed to drug a 13 year old girl to get laid.
Andy Freeman (b45dc3) — 9/29/2009 @ 11:22 amI lived there long enough to know that they can be very hardcore. Of course money goes a long way there so anything is possible. I can assure of one thing: whatever they do will be in their own self-interest.
Don Miguel (91f6eb) — 9/29/2009 @ 1:37 pmI don’t understand why there is talk about this at all. Why isnt’ he in jail already? Put the perv in jail!
Pamela Patten (9d1bb3) — 9/29/2009 @ 2:46 pmEr….so to speak. 😉
Tomblvd (67ef7f) — 9/29/2009 @ 4:04 pm[…] But she was thirteen. He plied her with champagne and Quaaludes. And he knew how old she was. Ick (warning: link has a pretty graphic description of anal rape.) His victim now says she has […]
Should Roman Polanski be punished for his crime? - Page 8 (e519d9) — 9/29/2009 @ 6:50 pm[…] those unfamiliar with the case, let’s recap: Polanski brought a 13 year old girl in on the false pretense of a modeling shoot, he fed her […]
Random Thoughts » Blog Archive » On Civilization - Synaptic firings do not occur in real time (0d1c7d) — 9/30/2009 @ 11:49 am[…] An excerpt from the victim in grand jury testimony ( graphic in nature) […]
Thoughts on Polanski « Ganttsquarry's Blog (215e9b) — 9/30/2009 @ 5:46 pm