Polanski demands sex charges be dropped
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In 1978 the Academy Award-winning director was convicted of the statutory rape of a 13-year-old girl, but escaped to Paris, France, before he could be sentenced for the crime. Prosecutors
subsequently vowed to arrest him if he ever stepped back in the U.S., leaving Polanski to start a new life in Europe. The star continued to make films during his self-imposed exile, landing
an Academy Award for 2002 Holocaust drama The Pianist. But Polanski has now taken a step towards returning to America - his legal team filed papers at L.A. County Superior Court on Tuesday
(02Dec08) demanding the case against him be dropped. Lawyers for the 74-year-old claim new HBO documentary, Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired, revealed a series of failings by the legal
system throughout Polanski's original trial, arguing that "misconduct and improper communications" between the judge and prosecutors mean the charges should be dismissed.