Roman Polanski loses bid to return to US

Roman Polanski has lost his bid to avoid jail if he returns to the US.

The ‘Rosemary’s Baby’ director pleaded guilty to unlawful sex with a minor in 1977 after plying Samantha Gailey with champagne and drugs before taking topless photos and having sex with her during a photoshoot when she was just 13 and agreed a plea deal which allowed him to serve 42 days in detention while undergoing psychiatric tests.

But he fled to France when he feared the deal would be dropped and he’d be sent to prison for a long stint, and has remained in Europe – including stints in his native Poland – ever since.

However, the 83-year-old filmmaker’s lawyer, Harland Braun, had asked Los Angeles County Superior Court to agree with a Polish court that the director – who spent 334 days in jail in Switzerland – had served his time and should be able to return to the US without the threat of being put back behind bars.

But Superior Court Judge Scott M.Gordon insisted Polanski had no right to complain about the sentence when he was in contempt of court for fleeing the US and mocked his request for guidance on how to return to the country with assurance he had fulfilled his sentence.

The judge noted other courts have ruled the director is a fugitive and must return to Los Angeles to be sentenced.

He wrote: "There is no sufficient or compelling basis for reconsideration of these issues…

"[Polanski and Braun have] not presented sufficient credible, admissible evidence or legal arguments to warrant the requested relief."

Samantha previously insisted she felt Polanski should be able to move on and put their illegal encounter behind him.

She said: "He said he did it; he pled guilty; he went to jail. I don’t know what people want from him.

"I’m sure he’s a nice man and I know he has a family and I think he deserves closure and to be allowed to put this behind him.

"We somehow ended up on the same side. Things have to go pretty wrong for them to end up this way."

And she thinks prosecutors have only pursued the case for publicity.

She added: "It’s a joke. A travesty. Hollywood justice at its finest."