Do you think if Roman Polanski were Father Polanski ?

Good point.

If Mr Polanski was an 80 year old Catholic priest accused (but not convicted) of sexual child abuse over 40 years ago then do you think that Woody Allen, Whoopi Goldberg, David Lynch, Martin Scorsese, Harvey Weinstein, and Debra Winger would be speaking out to defend him?

Mr Polanski pleaded guilty to sexual child abuse but fled before sentencing. He needs to own up to his actions.

Here is the chilling Grand Jury testimony of the Mr Polanski's 13 year old victim: http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/polanskicover...

Here is SNAP's (Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests) statement on Roman Polanski: http://www.snapnetwork.org/snap_statements/2009_st...

With love in Christ.

Of course not.

As it is, it's high time that Polanski be sent back to the US. It does not matter that he is famous. It does not matter that he suffered tragedy in his life. What matters is that he molested a 13-year-old girl, something for which he belongs in a federal prison, because that is what the law states, and that he plead guilty and was convicted.

NOBODY is above the law.

But then, it wouldn't surprise me at all if Polanski were to get to stay out of jail on his own recognizance. You don't even have to be famous to pull THAT one off. In this country, you can apparently get ROR (released on own recognizance) after pleading guilty to molesting a child if you're anything BUT a Catholic priest!

I speak from experience, of course, as the step-mother of a girl who was molested by her bio-mom's live-in boyfriend. THAT bastard is out ROR, as well, and, like Polanski, he also plead guilty.

Not a chance. The attitudes of the Hollywood elite are shaped by a double standard.

When it is one of their guys molesting a child, it is something you just have to understand. When it is less than 1% of Catholic priests from 40 or 50 years ago, it is an indictment of the church. Go figure.

Correction to Anne's answer: In 1969, Roman Polanski's pregnant wife, Sharon Tate, was murdered by the Manson Family. In 1977, he was convicted of unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor--that's 8 years later.

You don't excuse child molestation because of earlier tragedy. It's not a license to rape.

Cheers,

Bruce

Roman Polanski was Jewish and in fact escaped from a concentration camp when he was a child. His father survived, but his mother was killed while imprisoned by Nazis. Polanski's crime took place about ten years after his wife and unborn child were savagely stabbed to death by the Manson gang. I think he had serious emotional problems out of the ordinary from most "molesters." He should pay his debt to society, but the hatred toward him is a little bit extreme, all things considered.

Until he is tried and convicted

he was convicted and out on bail and fled before the sentencing hearing