Roman Polanski Extradition Update: Polish Court Denies US Request In 1977 Rape Of Girl

UPDATE: 8:55 a.m. EDT — A Polish court ruled Friday that Roman Polanski shouldn't be extradited to the United States to be sentenced for raping a 13-year-old girl in 1977, according to the Guardian. The request for extradition was made by the United States in January. Prosecutors are still allowed to appeal the court's decision.

ORIGINAL STORY:

Roman Polanski, the Academy Award-winning filmmaker who admitted to raping a 13-year-old girl in 1977, could find out Friday if he will be extradited to the United States to be sentenced for the crime. He pleaded guilty to multiple charges -- including unlawful sex with a minor -- then fled to France to avoid a heavy sentence, the Daily Mail reported.

Polanski’s lawyers argued for him at a hearing in the Polish city of Krakow, but Polanski himself was not present because of emotional issues, his attorney Jan Olszewski said. The United States requested Polanski be extradited in January, and in 2014, they tried to arrest him at the opening of a museum in Warsaw.

Polanski said he does not think the United States’ request for his extradition will be granted. Both sides can appeal the court’s expected Friday decision.

A world-renowned filmmaker, Polanski has directed many box office successes, including “Rosemary’s Baby,” “Chinatown” and “The Pianist.” Polish political figures, however, said his status as a star filmmaker shouldn’t shield him from the law.

“There was open talk that he should not be made responsible for his deeds because he is an outstanding, world-famous film-maker,” Jarosław Kaczyński, leader of Poland’s conservative Law and Justice Party, said earlier this week according to the Guardian. “We will totally reject this attitude.”

Samantha Geimer, the woman Polanski raped during a photo shoot in Los Angeles, has since written a memoir about her experience with Polanski in “The Girl: A Life in the Shadow of Roman Polanski,” according to the Los Angeles Times. Geimer, now in her 50s, in the book describes how she didn’t remember much of the year following the assault, in which she had to tell her story multiple times to various doctors and police officers.