Roman Polanski.............

[Aisling]

This is what I heard on news radio today:

That the 13 year old girl was brought to the party by her mother who was seeking an agent to get the girl into movies. (The girl was already a model.)

The mother left the girl there to mingle.

The girl was not a virgin at the time.

Drugs were flowing at the party like water.

RP gave the girl quaaludes and alchohol, told her she'd have a better time at the party.

The girl accepted the drugs.

Both of them under the influence, but awake, they had consensual sex.

The girl and her mother didn't file charges, but someone (it's assumed someone at the party) notified the police and RP was arrested.

He spent a month in jail under a plea bargain given to him by a judge, who said the month in jail would be his "time served". The charge was not "rape", but "sex with a minor".

RP was freed, but his lawyer found out that the judge was about to reneg (spelling) on the plea-bargain and was about to re-arrest RP.

RP fled the USA.

There was no mention of the girl being paid off.

The girl, who's now in her 40's, said no one was hurt by the ordeal, and she has "forgiven him".

RP has said that he can't understand why he's done wrong, since the girl consented, and that this type of "love affair" is common in Europe.

There was mention that the judge could not legally reneg on the plea-bargain, which makes RP a non-fugitive, since he did serve the month in jail.

The charge against him if he's extradited would be that he's a "fugitive of justice", not a rape charge, since he served the month in jail.


The celebrities are signing the petition because they know this kind of thing happens very often in Hollywood, and that there would be plenty more adults going to jail for having sex with underage starlets/star-wanna-bes who have the blessing of their stage mothers.

That's it in a nutshell.

For the record, I think the fact that he sees nothing wrong with what happened is outrageous.

 

[zachnsamsmommy]

I'll be honest...I don't really know what to think...

Even the victim has asked the charges to be dropped. When it first happened, the judge agreed to a plea deal and time already served. When the judge changed his mind, that is when Polanski bolted.

I also think some take into consideration Polanski's past when dealing with this. I think there is the 'poor Polanski, this happened b/c he was grieving over Sharon Tate and their baby' mentality. Yes, what happened to Polanski earlier was awful, but it still doesn't excuse rape. And it is rape even if it is consensual with a 13 yr old b/c 13 yr olds can't consent.

 

[Briarmom]

yeah, cuz like whoopi said....it wasn't "rape rape"................
how can anyone ever justify that comment? sorry, i just disagree and i am pretty disgusted by that comment. this is a family place so i can't get too graphic. but do i really need to explain what rape is? it's very simple.

She wasn't saying what he DID wasn't 'rape rape' she was saying WHAT HE WAS CHARGED WITH wasn't rape.

I really am surprised at all the people jumping all over Whoopie about this. She was just trying to make sure they stated exactly WHAT HE WAS CHARGED WITH.

As for the woman who was raped by him as a child, I feel terrible for her. I can't even imagine.

 

[BeachGirlFLA]

There's no such thing in this country as consensual sex with a 13-year-old. This poor girl's mother pretty obviously wasn't exactly the greatest mother and there's no way the girl had the emotional and mental maturity to know what she was doing (either when accepting the drugs or when having "consentual" sex wtih Polanski) if she'd been influenced by her. In fact, I would guess that what she's saying now is a product of being raised by the type of mother who thought that this kind of thing was okay as long as it furthered her daughter's career. None of that excuses Polanski's behavior.

 

[Octoberbride03]

I don't see the outrage. It happened 32 years ago, the "girl" is now 45 years old and received an undisclosed settlement amount at the time. I believe I read an article a few days ago when this story broke where even she says "for heavens sake, just drop it!!"

It's obvious that Roman Polanski hasn't been out there raping other girls or the news would have surfaced by now. He obviously isn't a danger to society and the only ones screaming for blood are the ones who are typically screaming for blood no matter who's face is on the front of the paper.

This case should be closed and the resources that are being wasted trying to "get" Roman Polanski should put to better use.

Actually the state of CA wasn't wasting time and resources trying to "get" him. They simply had a valid request posted online with any country that shared a full extradition treaty with the US. Switzerland is 1 of those countries. France is not which is why he lived there for 30yrs. All Switzerland did was read the paper about his visiting and waited at the airport to follow the request.

No secret police or bounty hunters sent after the man. Just simply following standard procedures in both countries.

As for the girl now woman, I'm glad she's moved on and is happy. But i gotta say I agree with the original judge, 42days really was not a long enough sentence and I wouldn't have let it go through either. Roman could have stayed and fought it out. He had the money. He chose to leave. His mistake, not CA's.

 

[daisax]

I'm not sure how consensual it was (aside from the illegality of a 13 year old consenting in any case, let alone under the influence of drugs), but apparently in her police interview she indicated that she had told him "no" at each step along the way.

So I don't know where "it was consensual!" comes into play.

 

[Aisling]

She wasn't saying what he DID wasn't 'rape rape' she was saying WHAT HE WAS CHARGED WITH wasn't rape.

I really am surprised at all the people jumping all over Whoopie about this. She was just trying to make sure they stated exactly WHAT HE WAS CHARGED WITH.

I may be mistaken, but when I watched Whoopie on TV, I could swear she said "what he DID wasn't rape rape".

 

[Heidict]

I don't see the outrage. It happened 32 years ago, the "girl" is now 45 years old and received an undisclosed settlement amount at the time. I believe I read an article a few days ago when this story broke where even she says "for heavens sake, just drop it!!"

It's obvious that Roman Polanski hasn't been out there raping other girls or the news would have surfaced by now. He obviously isn't a danger to society and the only ones screaming for blood are the ones who are typically screaming for blood no matter who's face is on the front of the paper.

This case should be closed and the resources that are being wasted trying to "get" Roman Polanski should put to better use.

So, as long as you run long enough and far enough you don't have to answer for your crimes? Do you feel this way about all criminals that are charged with crimes that are old or just RP?

Both of them under the influence, but awake, they had consensual sex.

A 13 year old girl that is under the influence of drugs and alcohol can not give consent. I would love to see a lawyer try that defense in court.

 

[Heidict]

sorry, double post

 

[Aisling]

I'm not sure how consensual it was (aside from the illegality of a 13 year old consenting in any case, let alone under the influence of drugs), but apparently in her police interview she indicated that she had told him "no" at each step along the way.

So I don't know where "it was consensual!" comes into play.

Very interesting! This wasn't mentioned in the news program discussing the case! Hmmm, I'd like to know more about that police report!

 

[Briarmom]

I may be mistaken, but when I watched Whoopie on TV, I could swear she said "what he DID wasn't rape rape".

You are mistaken. She was talking to the 'person in her ear' and she was repeating what they were saying to her. It's her job to be sure they don't say someone was charged with X when really they were charged with Y.

I really really feel for this woman. Can you imagine? Just living your life with your husband/kids/grandkids or whatever you have and then all of a sudden this pops back up. It must be like opening a wound.

 

[Free4Life11]

Here are Whoopi's comments:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9NX_D0Bv9M0

 

[LisaR]

I don't see the outrage. It happened 32 years ago, the "girl" is now 45 years old and received an undisclosed settlement amount at the time. I believe I read an article a few days ago when this story broke where even she says "for heavens sake, just drop it!!"

It's obvious that Roman Polanski hasn't been out there raping other girls or the news would have surfaced by now. He obviously isn't a danger to society and the only ones screaming for blood are the ones who are typically screaming for blood no matter who's face is on the front of the paper.

This case should be closed and the resources that are being wasted trying to "get" Roman Polanski should put to better use.

Do you have a daughter? I would be curious where you would draw the line on the "let it go" philosophy? If your daughter was drugged and raped and they caught the guy 6 years later, would you want to just let it go since it has been 6 years? 10 years? 15 years? Is your deadline only a "more than 30 years" type deal? As a parent, I would never be able to let go of the fact that my DD was drugged and raped and there are people in our society that say they don't see the outrage. Just to be clear, you would see the outrage if he was caught 2 years later, right? It is just the 32 year thing where your outrage disappears?

 

[KAMKIM]

What the hell does "rape rape" mean? rape is rape...

 

[KAMKIM]

This is what I heard on news radio today:

That the 13 year old girl was brought to the party by her mother who was seeking an agent to get the girl into movies. (The girl was already a model.)

The mother left the girl there to mingle.

The girl was not a virgin at the time.

Drugs were flowing at the party like water.

RP gave the girl quaaludes and alchohol, told her she'd have a better time at the party.

The girl accepted the drugs.

Both of them under the influence, but awake, they had consensual sex.

The girl and her mother didn't file charges, but someone (it's assumed someone at the party) notified the police and RP was arrested.

He spent a month in jail under a plea bargain given to him by a judge, who said the month in jail would be his "time served". The charge was not "rape", but "sex with a minor".

RP was freed, but his lawyer found out that the judge was about to reneg (spelling) on the plea-bargain and was about to re-arrest RP.

RP fled the USA.

There was no mention of the girl being paid off.

The girl, who's now in her 40's, said no one was hurt by the ordeal, and she has "forgiven him".

RP has said that he can't understand why he's done wrong, since the girl consented, and that this type of "love affair" is common in Europe.

There was mention that the judge could not legally reneg on the plea-bargain, which makes RP a non-fugitive, since he did serve the month in jail.

The charge against him if he's extradited would be that he's a "fugitive of justice", not a rape charge, since he served the month in jail.


The celebrities are signing the petition because they know this kind of thing happens very often in Hollywood, and that there would be plenty more adults going to jail for having sex with underage starlets/star-wanna-bes who have the blessing of their stage mothers.

That's it in a nutshell.

For the record, I think the fact that he sees nothing wrong with what happened is outrageous.

In my opinion the fact that she was 13 means it CANNOT BE CONSENSUAL.

 

[Heidict]

Very interesting! This wasn't mentioned in the news program discussing the case! Hmmm, I'd like to know more about that police report!

You can read it over at The smoking gun.

It's pretty graphic. She states that she said "No, come on. Stop it." She states that she was afraid.

 

[LisaR]

This is what I heard on news radio today:


RP gave the girl quaaludes and alchohol, told her she'd have a better time at the party.



RP has said that he can't understand why he's done wrong, since the girl consented, and that this type of "love affair" is common in Europe.


For the record, I think the fact that he sees nothing wrong with what happened is outrageous.

I agree with your last statement. The fact that a grown man gave a 13 y/o alcohol and drugs and had sex with her is bad enough. When the guy admits to it and says he can't figure out why it was wrong........yeah, I can't really find the right Dis appropriate words to come up with.

Again, if this happened last week, people would be calling for his head. Somehow it isn't a big deal because it happened 32 years ago. Attention all rapists: rape away and just don't get caught for a few decades and all will be forgiven.

 

[Aisling]

Here are Whoopi's comments:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9NX_D0Bv9M0

I see I was NOT mistaken about Whoopie. Clear as a bell.

 

[disykat]

What the hell does "rape rape" mean? rape is rape...

I watched the clip. It was quite clear whoopie was trying to clarify what he was CHARGED with. She made several comments about wanting to state the facts and not let their personal opinions on it have them not be clear about the actual charge.

I would hate to be a celebrity and have all my quotes taken out of context. She was trying to say that it wasn't a straight rape charge.

 

[BriarfoxinWA]

So if RP was tried, convicted (well plead guilty to a lesser charge) and given credit for time served, why is he being extredited back here to the US?

Sure I think his sentence was way to short but he can't be tried for the same crime again can he?