Appeal against historic sex case rejected

A California court on Wednesday rejected a fresh attempt by film director Roman Polanski to have his 1977 sex case dismissed.

Associated Press (AP) said that an order made by Superior Court Judge James Brandlin stated Polanski's claims of judicial misconduct and his bid to dismiss the case cannot be addressed because he remains a fugitive outside the country after pleading guilty to unlawful sex with a minor.

The Los Angeles Times also broke the news on micro-blogging website Twitter:

Judge Brandlin's nine-page order stated the 81-year-old had other options, including returning to California to address his claims.

The filmmaker was charged with raping a 13-year-old girl in Los Angeles after plying her with champagne and drugs. He later pleaded guilty to having unlawful sex with a minor.

Polanski was ordered to undergo a psychiatric study at the state prison in Chino, where he served 42 days.

The director of numerous pictures, including "Rosemary's Baby" and "Chinatown," fled the US to France before sentencing over concerns the judge would impose a further jail term on top of the time he had already spent in prison.

Threat of extradition to the US

Polanski's high-profile legal team launched the new bid to have the 37-year-old case closed, which would allow him to travel freely without the threat of extradition.

His attorneys filed a motion on Monday at the Los Angeles Superior Court seeking a hearing next month where they would ask to submit evidence to prove that the director was subjected to "false" extradition requests by the US authorities.

"The true facts and circumstances surrounding Polanksi's term of incarceration and his decision to leave the country in 1978 resulted directly from judicial and prosecutorial misconduct and should no longer be covered up," attorney Bart Dalton wrote in the motion, according to the Reuters news agency.

Polanski was questioned by Polish prosecutors in October after US authorities requested his extradition.

In 2009, he was held for 290 days under house arrest in Switzerland as authorities considered whether to extradite him to the US.

lw/ksb (AP, Reuters)