Judge: Polanski Must Attend Sentencing

(CBS/AP)  Updated at 6:04 p.m. ET

A judge ruled Friday that Roman Polanski must return to the U.S. to be sentenced in a decades-old sex case.

Superior Court Judge Peter Espinoza said he ruled "in defense of the integrity of the justice system, he needs to surrender."

His ruling is likely to be appealed.

Attorneys for the 76-year-old director have argued their client should be sentenced in absentia to time already served after pleading guilty in 1978 to one count of unlawful sexual intercourse with a 13-year-old girl.

Prosecutors insist Polanski must appear in a Los Angeles courtroom and not be permitted to manipulate the justice system.

Polanski, arrested on a U.S. warrant, spent more than 60 days in a Swiss jail before being transferred to house arrest in his Swiss vacation home Dec. 4.

An attorney for Polanski's victim .

Michael Brennan, a law professor at the University of Southern California, said it's highly unusual for a defendant to be sentenced in absentia.

In court documents, Polanski's attorneys said the late Superior Court Judge Laurence J. Rittenband sentenced the director in 1978 to a diagnostic study at a California prison where he served 42 days.

Although the judge told attorneys that would be Polanski's full sentence, he later indicated he was going to renege on the bargain and give him a harsher sentence at a scheduled hearing.

Polanski fled to France and has been a fugitive ever since.

His attorneys said the judge's promise is binding and Polanski has served his full sentence. They have asked Espinoza for a full hearing with witnesses about allegations of judicial and prosecutorial misconduct in the case.

Polanski's victim, Samantha Geimer, was 13 when she met Polanski for a modeling shoot in Los Angeles in 1977. Polanski was accused of plying her with champagne and part of a Quaalude pill then raping her at Jack Nicholson's house.

He was initially indicted on six felony counts, including rape by use of drugs, child molesting and sodomy. He later pleaded guilty to one count of unlawful sexual intercourse.

[cbsblogger]

The USA is in no mood to see another rich elitist get off with a slap on the wrist just because Hollywood believes he should be let go. Polanski needs to be sentenced just as would any other individual who skipped the country because he did not wish to face charges for raping a young girl.

[novamba]

I agree with you 100%. This pig is gross, and I apologize to the pig population for slandering their species...

[differnet]

DocD... you obviously never read the plea hearing transcript. There was no agreement from the judge. Polansky knew that the RECOMMENDATIONS of the prosecutor did not bind the judge. That's how our system works hun. Polansky hadn't been sentenced. He had plead guilty and spent 49 days in a psychiatric facility being interviewed to ascertain the level of his future dangerousness. And considering the numerous relationships he had with teens afterwards, he remained a danger. He was just smart enough after this to make sure that the teens he had sex with were just over the legal limit. You like so many other Polansky defenders are resorting to outright lies to defend him.

[skyowner]

You state that he remains a danger because, after being assessed, he adhered to the law.

According to US law, you have every right to have sex with anyone over the legal limit, that's why they call it 'legal limit'. If none of these girls pressed rape charges, it was probably consensual. So where is the danger part?

I have to admit, you don't use any outright lies, but you do contradict yourself. Please correct me if I'm wrong.

[wdh3007]

No amount of money great or small is worth dropping this crime especially a rape case of a child. Even though the victim who is now grown may or may not have been paid off she will always suffer the mere thought of this forever and that's a greater punishemt than living in some posh home in the alps.

[lmuth]

When I was young, my father remarked that most middle of the road and conservative Americans are little interested in politics - look at what it took to get us in the 2 World Wars. He said if you don't "mess with" the person's home, job, savings, "toys", or guns,...you can do most anything to him, politically. Now we have Senator Dodd/Congressman Franks who "messed with" Fannie and Freddie to homes to people who could not afford them - now we have the "bursting of the bubble" with massive forecloses. All that close-door investment house "finagling" that cost Merril Lynch, Lehman Brothers, et al, their firms + George Soros, the "true fat cat of Wall Street" - cost man, many their retirments. (Of noted: Golman-Sachs is the only investment house that is inf "fine shape",...and look at how many of Obama's "men" how direct or indirect ties with Goldman-Sachs). WIth all these "losses" to the American worker, he has no $ for this "toys" and cannot re-ignite the economy that runs on Capitzlism. Lastly, Attorney General Eric Holder, who is awaiting ANYTHING to reverse the Amendment to bear arms, would-if-he-could, put the final "socialistic nail n our coffin". If something doesn't get done, in my opinion, at the ballot box, AND SOON, there's enough weapons in private handles to actually start of Revolution - something Thomas Jeffersan said "happens at times, when necessary". I didn't vote for Obama, but was hoping that at least half of his compaign retoric was true,...as the country really needed a Renaissance in its political system. Unfortunately, he has lied on every occasional and we still don't really know who he REALLY is. Sorry for the length of this.

[cbsblogger]

Good observation on the part of your father. Both Ds and Rs are about power and riches for the Parties and their wealthy donors, not the interests of the USA. That's been proven because both allowed our manufacturing and economic base to be outsourced. Our economy has no real base except military industrial which needs perpetual war to function. Other than that it is a service economy based upon mutual backscratching which doesn't create real wealth. We've been able to live on our credit card and only because the dollar has been the world reserve currency. When that ends we're in deep doodoo.

[two-cats]

I wish Los Angeles would drop this thing with Polanski. It happened so long ago...he paid off the victim...the victim doesn't want this continued...and we have more pressing cases to handle than a stale rape charge.

[GeWay]

So you believe that if a person has enough money to flee to a posh Swiss life, stays there a few years, then the charges should be dropped? Strange system of justice, isn't it?

[thesevenveils]

It worked for Michael Jackson

[DocD--2008]

"Superior Court Judge Peter Espinoza said he ruled "in defense of the integrity of the justice system, he needs to surrender."

There is no integrity left in the justice system. A judge reneging on a sentence is not allowed, and this proves that there is no integrity especially within the justices themselves.

We need to return to a judicial system without crooked lawyers, in other words, having a law degree should disqualify you from ever becoming a judge; it only needs to be common sense and common decency, not games with technical BS anymore. We need to abolish the legal profession period as they are the most crooked out of all professions; especially the US Supreme Court.

[novamba]

We see your disdain for the US justice system, but now, back to this case in particular...what do you know about this case?