Rape by any other name is still rape.

So I've been reading a lot about this whole Roman Polanski thing on various newssites and something really bothers me about the whole thing. First off as a disclaimer, I was not very familiar with Roman Polanski's criminal history prior to his arrest in Switzerland--I knew he was an iconic director [he directed The Pianist for which Adrien Brody won his Academy Award] and when I begun hearing about his apprehension in Switzerland and the 1977 sex scandal with a young woman that led to Polanski pleading guilty to rape, I assumed the articles were referring to statutory rape. The newssites talked so nonchalantly about Polanski's crime I assumed he'd had a consensual sexual relationship with a barely-illegal girl [like 17] and had fled the country rather than to serve time for it. [As I type this I'm disturbed because I was/am comfortable with the idea of Polanski at the time 44 having sex with a 17 y.o.--at least from a legal perspective. That's something I'll have to explore later]

Anyway, the articles on CNN/MSNBC/etc., refer to the crime as "sex with a minor". After doing some more digging I found Polanski did MUCH more than have sex with a minor [the victim was 13 y.o BTW]. Here's an excerpt from an article I read in The Guardian--

[I]t's hard to believe that any of these people are talking about a 44-year-old man who was alleged to have groomed a 13-year-old girl for sex, got her drunk, fed her a drug and raped her vaginally and anally. The child testified to a grand jury that during a photographic session in 1977 at the Los Angeles house of the actor Jack Nicholson (who wasn't there at the time), Polanski encouraged the girl to drink champagne, got into a jacuzzi with her and persuaded her to take a sedative.
Then Polanski sent her to a bedroom where he performed cunnilingus on her before putting his penis in her vagina. Drunk and terrified, she protested that she didn't want to have sex, but Polanski took no notice and asked when her last period was. She couldn't remember and he asked if she was on the contraceptive pill. When she said she wasn't, he turned her over and penetrated her anally. He performed further sex acts before the weeping girl got into his car and was driven home.
 

What we are talking about here is a 44 y.o man who convinced a 13 y.o girl to come to a private residence with him, gave her alcohol and drugs, and against her will had sex with her. That my friends is what we in the legal profession [and in most common conversations] call RAPE RAPE RAPE RAPE RAPE! Why does the mainstream media insist on calling this sex?? Does someone's status as an 'iconic' director give them a pass for anally penetrating someone against their will? Seriously.

Several of Polanski's colleagues have called for his immediate release, claiming it was wrong for him to be apprehended in a neutral country where he assumed he could travel. Granted, it was a little sneaky of the Swiss gov't to apprehend Polanski [and there are several constitutional law issues there] but are none of his colleagues bothered by the fact that Polanski has avoided responsibility for a violent sex crime for over 30 years? What about his victim? Why are people comfortable with his sickening actions? One French official called Polanski's arrest "a bit sinister". I think giving a child liquor to loosen her up is a bit sinister personally. I guess that's just me.

What's truly sad is that because Roman Polanski is/was so famous, the victim in this case felt mistreated. She was assured tact and privacy from the prosecutors and received anything but that. Now that Polanski has been apprehended she wants the charges dropped--she doesn't want to deal with it anymore. The whole thing just angers me. This is why such a large percentage of rape/assault/molestation goes unpunished. Because we allow the culprits to skip the country and come to their defense when they're apprehended. This is a failure of the justice system.

Its frustrating. There was no sex. It was rape people...and rape is NEVER acceptable. Unless you're a famous Hollywood director (apparently).