Director Roman Polanski Arrested in Switzerland on a 31 year old Arrest Warrant

Here is some pretty crazy news for ya! I never thought this would actually happen but it has. According to Swiss police, Oscar-winning director Roman Polanski is being held in custody on a 31-year-old arrest warrant-- for fleeing the United States in 1977 after pleading guilty to having sex with a 13-year-old girl. Polanski, who has lived in France since running from the trial, was en route to the Zurich Film Festival where he was to receive a tribute for his filmmaking career.

The Los Angeles Times is reporting that the Los Angeles District Attorney's Office were aware that Polanski would be leaving France for the Zurich Film Festival and they planned on issuing a provisional arrest warrant to the U.S. Justice department to have Polanski detained in Switzerland. Polanski is currently in "provisional detention" until they determine whether he should be extradited to the United States to face the charges against him. This means that Polanski will have to be put through the Swiss court of justice and will probably try to appeal against any extradition decision.

The Swiss Directors Association criticized authorities for what it deemed "not only a grotesque farce of justice, but also an immense cultural scandal." During his trial in 1978, Polanski was allowed to plead guilty to one of six charges, unlawful sexual intercourse, and was sent to prison for 42 days of evaluation. Lawyers agreed that would be his sentence, but the judge tried to reneg on the plea bargain. Aware the judge would sentence him to more prison time and require his voluntary deportation, Polanski fled to France. The victim, Samantha Geimer previously joined in Polanski's bid for dismissal, saying she wants the case to be over.

Polanski's original 1977 case is well-documented in the 2008 documentary, Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired, which included an interview with Polanski's victim Samantha Geimer, who has since gone on the record that the case against Polanski should be thrown out after suing and accepting a settlement.

This is pretty crazy, I figured it was only a matter of time before this happened. I honestly think the documentary made about the events surrounding his crime didn't really help him, even though I think it was meant to. So what do you think about all this?