Last week we talked about a rather ludicrous set of demands made by attorneys for confessed pedophile and child rapist Roman Polanski, laying out his “terms” for conditions under which he might return to the United States. His long overdue date in court would apparently only happen if he could be assured that he would not spend one more night behind bars. While I remain sure that this criminal would dearly love to get back for a few more rounds of parties in Hollywood with his friends before he dies, prosecutors in Los Angeles issued a resounding “not so fast” in response. (Reuters)

Los Angeles prosecutors said in a court filing ahead of a hearing on Monday that the Oscar-winning movie maker could not dictate the terms of his return to the United States from afar.

Polanski’s attorney will ask a Los Angeles Superior Court judge to rule that Polanski fulfilled his time behind bars in 1977, when he served 42 days ahead of sentencing for the rape…

“The defendant is, once again, trying to dictate the terms of his return without risk to himself …. (He) wants answers – but will only show up if he likes the answers,” Los Angeles District Attorney Jackie Lacey wrote.

“There will be no discussion regarding what will happen until Mr. Polanski returns,” Lacey added.

That’s a refreshing response because for a brief time this week I was actually beginning to get worried that someone out in California might actually take these demands seriously. I would be far more interested in seeing some sort of response from the Justice Department. Keep in mind that no matter how much some liberals still seem to love Polanski, even the Obama Justice Department made some efforts to get him extradited back to the United States to face justice. One would hope that the more no-nonsense style approach of the current administration could be even more firm on the subject.

Let’s also remember that Polanski’s claims are completely frivolous to begin with. He’s attempting to make an argument which states that a plea bargain agreement which was never formalized in court is somehow binding these many decades later. The defendant had the opportunity to take his chances and show up before a judge and resolve the entire matter for better or worse. Instead, he chose to flee the country like the depraved criminal that he is and has been on the run ever since.

It’s also impossible to ignore the seriousness of the underlying issue. Polanski’s victim in the incident which started this horror show, Samantha Geimer, has repeatedly stated that she has forgiven him. That’s a very charitable and Christian attitude to take, and she is to be admired for her moral stance. But the simple act of receiving forgiveness from your victim does not mean that the legal system in our country is in any way compelled to take that into account. On the off chance that anyone reading this somehow missed the original story, we cannot overstate the fact that Roman Polanski confessed to drugging, raping and sodomizing a 13-year-old child. If we have reached the point where such a thing can be pencil-whipped under the rug with a few weeks in a county jail and ignore his criminal evasion of justice spanning decades, then Lady Justice is truly not only blind, but nearly decapitated.

It sounds unlikely in the extreme the Roman Polanski will be willing to return to California and face any real accountability for his monstrous acts. A better solution is called for, and that should come in the form of the author of The Art of the Deal getting together with the leadership in France and Poland and finding a way to (legally) drag this guy back here in chains.