Roman Polanski Can't Shake Sex Charge
AP Photo/Abdeljalil Bounhar
Roman Polanski wanted to stay put. So his 32-year-old felony will, too.
In what amounted to a 30-second hearing, a Los Angeles judge on Thursday dismissed the filmmaker's bid to have his unlawful sexual intercourse conviction thrown out.
Polanski's attorneys say they will appeal the ruling, but their client, who lives in France, has continued to insist that he will not return to the U.S. to plead his case.
Neither prosecutors looking to keep the case alive nor Polanski's legal team showed up in court today. L.A. Superior Court Judge Peter Espinoza had said that Polanski's failure to meet the court's deadline to appear would result in a dismissal.
The Chinatown director pleaded guilty in 1977 to having sex with a 13-year-old girl but left the country before sentencing, fearing the judge was going to renege on a plea deal that would have kept him from serving significant jail time.
Polanski's legal team filed their motion to have the case thrown out in December, citing misconduct by the District Attorney's Office and the since deceased judge who originally presided over the case.
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