US attorney vows to continue pursuit of Roman Polanski

Authorities in California have vowed to continue their pursuit of the Oscar-winning film-maker Roman Polanski, despite Swiss authorities yesterday refusing his extradition to the US. The Swiss refusal followed nine months of deliberation, during which Polanski was held under house arrest at a multi-million-dollar chalet in the mountain resort of Gstaad. The director is wanted for sentencing in the US on charges of having sex with a 13-year-old girl in 1977. Los Angeles county district attorney Steve Cooley called the Swiss decision a "disservice to justice and other victims as a whole". However, he also appeared to admit there was little chance of bringing the 76-year-old film-maker to the US for trial, provided he did not set foot outside his native France. Polanski is believed to have returned to his home in Paris last night, and the country does not extradite its citizens. Cooley told Associated Press his office would work with federal officials to have Polanski returned for sentencing if he was arrested in a country with a favourable extradition treaty. Authorities previously sought his arrest in England, Thailand and Israel. The Oscar-winning director of Rosemary's Baby, Chinatown and The Pianist was accused of plying his victim with champagne and Quaaludes during a modelling shoot at his friend Jack Nicholson's house in LA, then raping her. He was initially indicted on six felony counts, including rape by use of drugs, child molesting and sodomy, but pleaded guilty only to one count of unlawful sexual intercourse. The Swiss government said its decision to reject extradition for Polanski was based in part on US authorities' failure to provide transcripts of secret testimony given by the attorney who originally handled the director's case. The testimony "should prove" that Polanski actually served his sentence while undergoing a court-ordered diagnostic study after charges were filed, the Swiss justice ministry said. "If this were the case, Roman Polanski would actually have already served his sentence and therefore both the proceedings on which the US extradition request is founded and the request itself would have no foundation," the ministry said. They also noted that Polanski's victim, Samantha Geimer, has repeatedly asked that the case be dropped. Cooley responded by accusing the Swiss of exploiting a quirk of California law to set the director free. He said the decision was a "rejection of the competency of the California courts", adding: "The Swiss could not have found a smaller hook on which to hang their hat."