One of Hollywood’s favorite, and least favorite, sons is looking to take another shot at getting back into the country that he fled some forty years ago. If you know cinema, and possibly even if you don’t know cinema, you know the story behind Roman Polanski: with 14 Oscar nominations under his belt, including wins for Rosemary’s Baby and Chinatown, Polanski made the papers in March of 1977 for something other than his marvelous films; he was accused of raping a 13 year old girl at the home of Jack Nicholson.
After originally pleading not guilty to all charges, his attorney set up a plea bargain which would dismiss most charges providing he plead guilty to a charge of “unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor”; the result of this plea was supposed to be a 90-day psychiatric evaluation plus time served and probation. After spending 42 days in prison, Polanski was released and plead guilty to the charge and began to await sentencing. However, Polanski’s attorney received word that the judge was not going to honor the previous deal and was planning to put Polanski behind bars.
The day before sentencing, Polanski fled to France to avoid sentencing and the U.S. has tried, unsuccessfully, to extradite him several times from both France and Poland where he holds dual citizenship.
Now, Deadline is reporting that the 83 year old actor may finally get his chance to come back to the U.S.
Polanski’s attorney says that there will be a hearing next week with Superior Court Judge Scott Gordon where they will request that sealed documents be opened that will prove once and for all that the original judge reneged on his promise of a much lighter sentence in exchange for Polanski’s plea deal. Should they be successful in their request, it may open a path for Polanski’s return.
Keep it locked to Horror News Network as we will be following this story as it evolves.
