Polanski sex case key dates
2009-11-26 16:03
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Zurich - A timeline of the legal case against film director Roman Polanski:
1977
- March 10: Polanski, aged 43, invites a 13-year-old girl to take part in a fashion photo session at the Hollywood home of actor Jack Nicholson, who is absent at the time. He plies the girl with alcohol and drugs and has sex with her.
- March 25: The girl's parents lodge a complaint with the police.
- April 15: Polanski goes on trial on charges including rape and sodomy. He initially pleads not guilty.
- August: Under a plea bargain agreement, Polanski pleads guilty to the sole charge of having unlawful sex with a minor. He is ordered to undergo three months of psychiatric tests in a California institution, delayed until the end of the year to allow him to complete a film.
1978
- After a month and a half in the Chino Penal Institution near Los Angeles, Polanski leaves the US, fearing that proceedings over the case may resume. He settles in France, where he was born and has citizenship. He has lived there ever since, avoiding travel to the US.
France, which generally does not extradite its own citizens, refuses an extradition request from the Californian authorities.
1994
- Polanski reaches a civil agreement to pay damages to the woman he assaulted. But the state of California refuses to lift the criminal charges against him.
2003
- March: Polanski is awarded an Oscar for his film The Pianist.
The woman he assaulted issues a statement saying she has forgiven Polanski, but nevertheless confirming that he raped her. The director stays away from the Oscars ceremony, fearing arrest.
2008
- A documentary film, Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired is released about the case.
2009
- May: A Los Angeles judge refuses an application from Polanski's lawyers for the case to be dropped.
- September 26: Polanski is arrested on his arrival in Zurich for a film festival, pending an extradition request from the US.
- September 29: Polanski's lawyers seek his release and appeals against the arrest warrant pending his extradition.
- October 23: The US authorities submit a formal request for Polanski's extradition.
- October 26: The woman assaulted by Polanski makes a renewed call for the case against the director to be dismissed.
- November 25: A Swiss court authorises his release from detention subject to a bail bond and strict restrictions on his movements.