Los Angeles - Prosecutors on Tuesday called on a Los Angeles court to reject the request of Oscar-winning director Roman Polanski to drop a child sex-abuse case against him. In a 17-page brief, the Los Angeles County district attorney's office said that Polanski should surrender to authorities and face trial if he wanted to clear his name.
The case harks back more than 31 years to when Polanski, now 75, pleaded guilty to unlawful intercourse with a a 13-year-old girl before fleeing to his native France prior to sentencing.
Polanski's lawyers last month pleaded for the case to be dropped citing evidence from a documentary film, Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired, which showed that the judge in the case had been improperly briefed by the prosecution.
The district attorney's response came a day after Polanski's legal team appealed to have the case moved from Los Angeles County, where it claimed that the judicial system was tainted by misconduct.
Prosecutors insisted that any hearings on the appeal be suspended until Polanski returns to face justice in person, saying he was barred from seeking dismissal by his fugitive status.
The brief reminded the court of the severity of the charges against the celebrated director of films like Chinatown and The Pianist. Polanski allegedly plied the girl "with multiple glasses of champagne and a portion of a Quaalude pill, and then proceeded to orally copulate this child, have sexual intercourse with this child, and sodomize this child."
