Roman Polanski requests to end historic rape case over sex with 13-year-old

The director fled the US in 1977 before he could be sentenced for having sex with a 13-year-old girl

Lawyer Alan M. Dershowitz is seeking to end Roman Polanski’s long-running rape case.

The director fled the US in 1977 before he could be sentenced for having sex with a 13-year-old girl.

Dershowitz, who has previously worked with Julian Assange and Patty Hearst, has requested permission to represent Polanski in California.

The filing made on Monday at Los Angeles County Superior Court said that Polanski “has taken responsibility for his actions, served his sentence, and a remedy should now be fashioned by the court once and for all”.

The documents also claim that prosecutors had provided false information to support a recent attempt to have the director extradited from Poland.

The filing also demanded a hearing to close Polanski’s case.

Polanski was charged with six felony charges in 1977, including rape and sodomy, before accepting a plea deal. He left the country on the eve of his sentencing.

In 2009, he was arrested in Zurich, Switzerland, following a US extradition attempt, but was freed.

He is currently based in France where he is directing stage show The Vampires' Ball, but wants to shoot a film in Poland on the basis that he won’t be extradited.