Is there, or should there be, a statute of limitations on the rape or first degree sexual abuse of a 13 year old girl? That appears to be the question on many minds after the arrest of Roman Polanski in Switzerland, and the U.S. request for extradition to trial.
It's been 32 years, and the guy has spent that time working throughout Europe and for what it's worth, living a clean, productive life apparently.
I'm asking the question here, just because I think it probably deserves some thought. Personally, my mind is not made up tonight, but I'm probably leaning towards "no".
But the point of this post is to call out some of the sickening comments defending Polanski (who plead guilty to this) which can be summed up with the statement by the French Cultural Minister who said that this guy should not be arrested because of his "immense talent and artistry". I do have a problem with those words.
How in anybody's mind, can someone's artistic talent, which in Polanski's case is questionable anyway, excuse this type of behavior? These people are just warped. Most of them are from the artistic communities found in France and, "shockingly", Hollywood. They really do live in a different world; one with very few rules, unless perhaps, this victim had been their daughter.
If there is any consideration given to Polanski here, it should come only from the amount of time elapsed. I suppose that if he had spent the last 32 years feeding the poor, then his vocation might be used to his credit, but certainly not in the case of an industry that at times glorifies the repulsive behavior he's displayed in the real world.
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