Court nixes dismissal of Polanski sex case

Fugitive Jewish film director told to return to US and address claims that he raped a minor in 1977

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A judge has denied director Roman Polanski’s latest bid to have his 1977 sex case dismissed.

A nine-page order issued Tuesday by Superior Court Judge James Brandlin states that the Holocaust survivor’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 in 1977.

Polanski’s lawyers have sought a public evidentiary hearing for the case claiming a judge who handled the matter in 2008 and 2009 committed misconduct.

Brandlin’s order states Polanski has other options, including returning to California to address his claims.

Born in Paris to Jewish parents, Polanski was arrested in 1977 after being accused of sexually assaulting a 13-year-old girl in Los Angeles. He fled to France and later to Switzerland, where he has been able to avoid extradition to the United States.

In 2009, by request of US authorities, he was arrested in Switzerland and jailed for two months. After a period of house arrest, Zurich denied a US request for extradition and stated that Polanski was “a free man.”