Please pardon me for screaming and ranting. Yesterday, I was listening to NPR's report about the extradition of Famous Movie Man Roman Polanski from Europe to California to face the music after pleading guilty 32 years ago to illegal sexual intercourse with a 13 year old girl. And to my amazement, NPR (and lots of other media as well) disclosed the name of the victim of his crime and where she lived and, as if that weren't enough, asked her what she thought about his return.
I was driving the car and almost put it in a ditch. What, I want to know, does this woman, who sought to be anonymous, have to do with Roman Polanksi's present legal problems? And how can the media justify bothering her? How can they dredge her up in Hawaii, where she's living an apparently normal life, and destroy her privacy?
Join me me over there.
Answer: She has nothing to do with it. He pleaded guilty. He's already been convicted. He got a plea deal of some kind. He admitted only one count of illegal intercourse with her. He either did or did not have a plea agreement that spared him prison. The judge either was or was not going to put him in prison. But he didn't wait around to see what was going to happen and make his legal arguments and deal with the consequence. Oh, no. He got scared. And he fled. He got on a plane and he flew to Europe. And he's been there making movies, living his life, avoiding coming to the US for more than thirty, count them, thirty years, and thumbing his nose at the justice system.
There's only one real problem for him, and that is that California has an open case on which he voluntarily and knowingly pleaded guilty to a sex crime. And this is the important part: he hasn't ever been sentenced. So the present beef isn't between him and his victim, who was then 13. That issue, about whether he did or did not do it, is all over. It was completely over when he pleaded guilty. The present problem he has is solely and exclusively with the California Justice System which not surprisingly wants him to be sentenced and pay whatever debt it is he owes to society for pleading guilty and admitting in open court to a felony sex crime.
This has nothing, absolutely nothing to do with the then 13-year old he admitted to raping. That was all over the day he admitted the crime in open court and pleaded guilty. It has everything to do with raising his middle digit to the justice system in 1977, getting on a plane and saying, "Catch me if you can." And now, finally, they have.
You might want to know why film luminaries like Woody Allen, and Debra Winger, and Martin Scorcese have signed a petition saying that poor Romie's suffered enough. I'd like to understand that also. Here's Steve Lopez if it matters. If you make great movies, and thumb your nose at the process for more than 3 decades, evidently these clueless celebrities opine that you've suffered enough. Forget that you admitted a sex crime felony in open court. And ran away. And haven't paid the tab. Just forget those small details.
Am I indignant? Yes. I'm a criminal defense lawyer. I've defended lots of sex offenders. And when some of them have run away after trial, or after a plea, they were unceremoniously hunted down and judges then buried them under the prison. At least one term of more than 30 years comes to mind. The judges gave these people who ran away after being found guilty time that seemed to me to be excessive.
But Polanski's evidently different. My former clients didn't make movies. They didn't have wealth. They didn't have influential friends. They didn't get a sweetheart deal in the first place. And they didn't have the money to flee to Europe. And live there. And continue their lives. They weren't artistes. No, they just fled and ran as far and as fast as they could get. Which in the scheme of things wasn't nearly far enough. And eventually they were arrested.
I have no idea what Roman Polanski's sentence will or should be. I have no idea what his deal was, if he had one. But I'm disgusted that the Traditional MediaTM think they can disturb the peace and serenity of Polanski's victim just because this celebrity now is facing yet another legal battle. And I'm outraged that other celebrities have sprung to his defense and had the unmitigated gall to argue that the entire episode of his flight should have no consequences. For shame. For shame.