Polanski Child Sex Case Appeal Dismissed
Oscar-winning director Roman Polanski`s bid to have his 1977 child sex case dismissed has been rejected by a Californian appeals court.
His lawyers had pushed for the charge to be dropped on grounds of judicial misconduct.
Despite the dismissal, the California Second District Court of Appeal said it did not disregard the "extremely serious allegations" raised in the case.
It then urged the parties involved to "take steps to investigate and to respond to the claims" of misconduct.
The director had pleaded guilty in 1977 to having unlawful sex with a minor in America.
But, in 1978, Polanski fled the US because he believed a judge was going to sentence him to more than the time he had already served in a California detention centre.
Since then, Polanski has made his home in France and avoided extradition back to California for his sentencing.
But in September, he was arrested at a film festival in Switzerland and the legal battle was renewed.
Based in part on interviews in a 2008 documentary about the director, Polanski`s lawyers sought to have the case dropped due to misconduct on the part of the original judge, who has since died.
Earlier this year, a California judge said he could not make a decision with the director absent from his courtroom and that Polanski must return.
His lawyers appealed to the Second District Court to dismiss the charge, resulting in Monday`s ruling.
The director, whose films include Chinatown and The Pianist, is currently under house arrest in the central European country.
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