After several tries, U.S. officials finally nab Roman Polanski in 1970s rape case [Updated]

Three decades after he fled the United States following his arrest for unlawful sex with a 13-year-old girl, Roman Polanski was taken into custody in Zurich this morning and faces extradition to Los Angeles.

Polanski, the famed film director whose career continued to flourish even after fleeing for Europe, was arrested as he arrived in the Swiss city to accept an award at the Zurich Film Festival.

The Los Angeles County district attorney’s office learned last week that Polanski had plans to travel to Zurich this weekend, said Sandi Gibbons, spokeswoman for the district attorney’s office.

Prosecutors sent a provisional arrest warrant to the U.S. Justice Department, which presented it to  Swiss authorities. On at least two previous occasions, the district attorney’s office has received reports that Polanski had travel arrangements to countries with extradition treaties with the U.S. and prepared paperwork for his arrest, Gibbons said.

“But in the end, he apparently found out about it and didn’t go,” she said.

A source familiar with the investigation told The Times that the U.S. Marshals Service had come close to arresting Polanski half a dozen times or so over the past few decades -- though several of those opportunities presented themselves in the last two years.

"For one reason or another, it just didn't work out," said the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the case was ongoing. "There are so many variables."

The source said Polanski always was very careful about when and where he traveled. But as new questions arose in recent years about the fairness of his case, the source said Polanski appeared to become more at ease about travel.

Thomas Hession, head of the Marshals Service's  Los Angeles office, would not comment on specifics of the case but said authorities moved quickly on each lead. "Any time information was developed, the L.A. County district attorney's office and the Marshals Service immediately acted on it."

Three decades after he fled the United States following his arrest for unlawful sex with a 13-year-old girl, Roman Polanski was taken into custody in Zurich this morning and faces extradition to Los Angeles.

Polanski, the famed film director whose career continued to flourish even after fleeing for Europe, was arrested as he arrived in the Swiss city to accept an award at the Zurich Film Festival.

The Los Angeles County district attorney’s office learned last week that Polanski had plans to travel to Zurich this weekend, said Sandi Gibbons, spokeswoman for the district attorney’s office.

Prosecutors sent a provisional arrest warrant to the U.S. Justice Department, which presented it to  Swiss authorities. On at least two previous occasions, the district attorney’s office has received reports that Polanski had travel arrangements to countries with extradition treaties with the U.S. and prepared paperwork for his arrest, Gibbons said.

“But in the end, he apparently found out about it and didn’t go,” she said.

A source familiar with the investigation told The Times that the U.S. Marshals Service had come close to arresting Polanski half a dozen times or so over the past few decades -- though several of those opportunities presented themselves in the last two years.

"For one reason or another, it just didn't work out," said the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the case was ongoing. "There are so many variables."

The source said Polanski always was very careful about when and where he traveled. But as new questions arose in recent years about the fairness of his case, the source said Polanski appeared to become more at ease about travel.

Thomas Hession, head of the Marshals Service's  Los Angeles office, would not comment on specifics of the case but said authorities moved quickly on each lead. "Any time information was developed, the L.A. County district attorney's office and the Marshals Service immediately acted on it."

Asked if prosecutors would ask that Polanski be sentenced to time behind bars if he were returned to the U.S., Gibbons said, “We’ve always maintained this is a matter between Polanski and the court. … We initially recommended prison time for him, but I can’t see into the future.”

An attorney for Polanski, Chad Hummel, declined to comment. “Right now, we’re not in a position to say anything,” he said.

[Updated 1:00 p.m. : In a statement, three Los Angeles attorneys representing Polanski  indicated the arrest came as a surprise. The lawyers have been representing him in an ongoing attempt to have the case against Polanski dismissed on the grounds of prosecutorial and judicial misconduct.

"We were unaware of any extradition being sought and separate counsel will be retained for those proceedings,” wrote attorneys Douglas Dalton, Chad Hummel and Bart Dalton. Their request to have the 1977 charges against Polanski dismissed is currently pending before the state Court of Appeal.

The organizers of the Zurich Film Festival expressed “great consternation and shock” over Polanski’s arrest and said the program honoring his films would go on in his absence.

 A spokeswoman for the event, Nikki Parker, wrote in an e-mail that neither Polanski nor the organizers considered his legal status in the U.S. an issue in attending the festival because he often traveled to Switzerland and even owned a home there.

“There was no concern whatsoever,” Parker wrote.]

Polanski, now 76 and a married father of two, asked the court to throw out the entire case based on new allegations of prosecutorial and judicial misconduct detailed in an HBO documentary last year. The L.A. district attorney’s office argued that he could not make such a request while a fugitive, and an L.A. judge earlier this year agreed. A 1997 attempt at settling the case also failed.

Polanski was arrested 31 years ago at a Beverly Hills hotel after a 13-year-old girl accused him of sexually assaulting her during a photo shoot at actor Jack Nicholson's house.

A 1978 arrest warrant, issued after he failed to appear at his sentencing on the statutory-rape conviction, is still in effect, and he would be taken into custody upon arrival on U.S. soil. The director of "Chinatown" and "Rosemary's Baby" has not returned to the U.S. since then but continues to work as a director, winning an Oscar for "The Pianist."

Polanski’s stay in Switzerland could be brief if he opts to return to Los Angeles.

“If he agrees with an extradition, he could be sent to the U.S. in the next days,” said Guido Ballmer, a spokesman for the Swiss Federal Department of Justice and Police.

But if Polanski declines to come back without a fight -- perhaps a more likely scenario given his three decades as a fugitive -- the court process could be quite lengthy, Ballmer told The Times.

The appeals process has several layers and could last months, if not longer. 

-- Harriet Ryan and Andrew Blankstein

Photo credit: A Polanski fan waits for Zurich's Filmfestival. Polanski would have been awarded tonight with the "Golden Eye Award" for his lifework. Ennio Leanza / EPA

More coverage:

Roman Polanski photo gallery

Roman Polanski's attorneys stunned by arrest

Samantha Geimer on being the victim of Polanski and the media

Polanski's extradition to L.A. could take months

Comments

[Muhammex]

Geez. If only us ultra conservative Americans were as open minded as the Europeans. How "dark ages" of us to not be cool with pompous old men banging 13 year olds. Maybe if it was one of your daughters the great movie maker was drugging and banging. Maybe not. Europe just does whatever and when the bottom falls out they cry for consevative America to dig'em out. Maybe next time us crazy Americans are horny for little girls we will just roll to Europe and look up your daughters. You bunch of clods.

[Hythloday]

3 decades later - no salvation, no forgiveness. To even degrade the situation by using such a vulgar word as justice only indemnifies the serial impunity of the situation. America isn't forgiving, nor is it consistent; it is indeed The United States of Tera! California, as a state, cannot make budget, so they seriously consider releasing thousands of truly dangerous people with the hopes that an even costlier home monitoring system. Federally, the US deliberately ignores border security provisions, allowing South American cartels to run amok. And yes, the state department sees the world and it's evil through rose-colored glasses regarding Iran, Lybia, Venuzuela, etc. America deserves it's karma when its court system looks like this, as well as the national consciousness!

At worst, Polanski, in the eyes of a few Spanish Inquisition wannabees is a rapist/pedophile, and only in America do people care so vain-gloriously that he get his subjective 'up and commins'. But it's the hip moral to have this decade, isn't it?

As long as America has Politicians/Citizens that openly support a group such as ACORN, after knowing it has/had workers inside of it that condones, if not turns a blind eye to the behavior of child prostitution, and indefinitely, as long as 'Amerika' de-shields Poland/Eastern Europe from a dangerous Russia, jeopardizing millions of people (that includes children), the US deserves it's title of The Great Hypocrite of the World. That means it's citizenry - all who believe 'Lady Justice' is something other than a whore who spreads her legs best to the biggest paycheck, the most refined speaking lawyer.

[Injunjoe]

The man's a coward, a perverted predator, and a fugitive from justice.

Thank God he has finally been caught and can finally pay for his crimes against humanity.

IJ...

[wolfsheild]

The u.s. is creating a fake war with iran claiming it has WMDs- like the ones in Iraq and all we are concerned about is if roman polanski diddled a girl 30 years ago...the big criminals ar free on wall street- no one is arresting them- arrest the FBI for making fake false flag terro on the american people!

[laslavic]

so nabbing a man that raped a 13 year old is a bad thing...of course the uber sophisticated euro snobs need another ditty to prove their noble moral superiority. Remember your values caused 100 million people there lives last century. For the record most people under the age of 50 have no idea who this piece of euro filth is and couldn't care less. As far as crime stats go our diversity is our problem and our strength so shove it. You stack up our majority against yours and we have a lower crime rate across the board. We are dealing with a tragedy brought to by europeans and some day this too shall pass. You brought us slavery and you conquered Mexico in installed a corrupt euro style system that puts the Spanish on top ans screws the rest of Mexico. You screwed up the planet for a thousand years and if you euro filth get out of our way we'll fix the horrible scars you left after we kicked your asses out. How bout you people send back the trillions your terrorist explorers plundered from the indigent peoples long before the Americans and manifest destiny kicked in eh? Maybe a little cash for all the Africans you euros sold to other euros all throughout the new world....sanctimonious punks

[Roger Bensen]

I hope he ends up in a cell with a well endowed black muslim.

[laslavic]

now that I got that out of my system....most people here have no idea who this guy is and couldn't care less and it probably is a publicity stunt for a DA looking for a political career. Like this never happens in europe.

[Olden Atwoody]

Judging from all the naysayer comemnts below, I guess it's OK to rape 13 year-old girls.

Roman, I want to date your children. How about it, Mr. Libertine?

[Steve]

Put him in prison where he will live out what ever remaining years he has. He is a scumbag and it's time to pay. Any liberal douchbag who thinks he should be free cause it was such along time ago should think about what if it was their daughter he drugged and raped.

[Mike]

Nice work by the Marshals. This fella broke the law in such a despicable way. He needs to answer for it.

[Marc Rich]

If you are as rich as Marc Rich you do not need to worry in Switzerland about a U.S. warrant

[ichlema]

Looks to me like the media on both continents is paying way more attention than the populations are. Looks to me that the DA in LA has lots of time on his hands. And, finally can anyone imagine if this was a Texas deal, the DA was in say Dallas and Bush was still President? This has got to be freaking the euros out because we are talking LA not exactly a bastion of traditional values....I'm thinking grown men doping 13 years olds to get in their pants in not a far stretch from what many assume goes on in the liberal parts California and europe anyways so whats the big deal. Got to love moral equivalency and the fact he's tight with the hollyweird crowd and the Frisco elites....this is going to fun for the media and those People magazine crowd. Too bad for what's her name...the way she'd like to stay I'll bet. They are going to drag this woman through hell for ratings and paper and magazine sales you watch....or don't watch I hope.

[Andy]

To all of the people on here speaking out against this:

What would you do? Just forget about it? The man was convicted of having sex with a 13 year old girl. How can anyone not think that is a big deal? I don't care if the parents were negligent or what the situation was. He RAPED a 13 year old, was convicted of it, and fled the country so he would not have to go to jail.

Shame on France and the Hollywood crowd for protecting this sicko all these years. If this had been just some guy that worked at the local convenience store he would have been tracked down and put in jail decades ago. Is he above the laws of OUR country just because he is famous? I think not.

To hell with this guy. I'm glad they finally got him.

[JIMMY]

and another fame seeking prosecutor gets his 15 minutes.
if it was illegal for a prosecutors name to be published, this case would have gone away a long time ago.

[Marty E (Texas)]

What so many Europeans on this blog don't understand is that it's not Samantha Geimer (the victim) vs Roman Polanski; it's the People of California vs Roman Polanski! He's a fugitive of justice and I hope he serves every day of his sentence! In Texas we have a much quicker way of dealing with child rapists.

[Anon]

It's OK to commit felonies and run so as long as you're famous or have a good excuse.

It's OK to commit felonies so as long as you can avoid capture for several decades.

It's OK to commit felonies so as long as people in power admire you and/or your work.

You are immune from capture if your capture could further the career of any person charged with capturing fugitives.

You are immune from arrest when invited to a foreign country by a non-governmental organization to accept a life time achievement award.

You are immune from arrest so as long as you can point to someone worse than yourself who has not yet been arrested/captured.

Or perhaps every once and while a person's fame, accomplishments, popularity, etc doesn't place him above the law.

[Alex Wolf]

Good!

A pedophile is going to be behind bars.

Granted it took three decades too long . . . but what's the arguement here?

A 13 year old got raped. Now justice is being served. So what he's old? Perhaps the ultimate cruelty is that he got to enjoy the last few decades of his life OUT of jail.

Rot in Hell pedophile!!!

[Brod]

It is about time that this perverted rapist was arrested. I cannot believe that by evading arrest and fleeing the country because you have financial means allows you to continue to profit in a capitalistic society such as the movie industry. Does Obama know this? Great to hear that justice will prevail under his watch. The extradition order will show the world that Obama does not play favorites. This guy is a pedophile and should be punished as so. If he is released or not prosecuted, it shows the weakness of this president and the influence of the Hollywood community on this administration. To say he has suffered enough due to his background is an embarassment to all victims of the holocaust. What did that have to do with him getting high and drunk and having his way with a child?

[billrod]

I guess if you speak against pedophiles, your comments get removed from this forum. What a shame.

[gili4]

If this director character raped a 13 year old girl he should be brought to justice - period! Just because he's famous and is an excellent director should have no bearing on his criminality and should not be an influence on whether he's prosecuted or not if he is guilty of the crime. Remember, justice is blind.

[Bruce]

Now they should arrest the girls mother for child endangerment 31 years ago. She left her 13 year old daughter alone with a druggie perv, a talented druggie perv but a druggie perv no less.

[TmKr]

"more important than chasing down a famous film director"

Oh, yes, of course. He's famous and accomplished and newsworthy, so we should just forget that RAPE OF A CHILD, um.... I mean.... "little indiscretion".... in his past and "move on".

And, naturally, no prosecutor with any self-respect would actually consider DOING HIS JOB by prosecuting someone rich and famous who has been accused of a crime. No, they're all in it for fame and glory.

Ray, who writes your material? You're paying them too much.

[TmKr]

Ray, I'm sorry, I meant to address my comment to David.

[R Anderson]

What was the nature of the relationship between Polanski and the 13 year old? Some young girls are innocent, some are older beyond their years.
For legal purposes, it is necessary to set an age limit, but natural purposes depend on each individual.

[Jim Q. Citizen]

But of course! Wouldn't you know it would be liberals who think that drugging and raping a 13 year old is no big deal. Why not with the control of both houses of congress legalize anything and everything if it makes you feel good for five or more seconds?

This disgusting brute Polanski needs to do the time for the crime that he himself plead guilty to.