Sex Crimes

Polanski Loses Bid to Disqualify All LA Superior Court Judges

A California appellate panel has rejected a motion by fugitive Academy Award-winning film director Roman Polanski to have every Los Angeles trial court judge disqualified from hearing his request to have his 31-year-old rape case dismissed. We previously discussed Mr. Polanski's argument here. You may view the docket here. From the Associated Press:

Roman Polanski's attorneys have lost their bid to disqualify all Los Angeles Superior Court judges from considering their request to dismiss the 31-year-old sex case against the fugitive director.

The California 2nd District Court of Appeal issued the decision Monday, and also lifted a stay on all proceedings.

Polanski's attorney, Chad Hummel, claimed the entire Los Angeles Superior Court bench is biased against the director. Prosecutors countered that the claim was frivolous.

Polanski pleaded guilty to having sex with a 13-year-old girl in Los Angeles in 1978 but fled to France before he could be sentenced.

Superior Court spokesman Allan Parachini says a new date for the hearing will be set Tuesday.

From the California 2nd District Court of Appeals Docket website:

The court has read and considered the petition for writ of mandate and request for stay of proceedings filed herein January 20, 2009, and the opposition filed by the People January 29, 2009. The petition is denied and the stay of proceedings issued January 20, 2009 is vacated.

CIA Algerian Station Chief Accused of Rape

Two women claim that a former CIA Algerian station chief gave them date-rape drugs and raped them at the station chief's official residence in Algeria. The Washington Post has more. From CNN:

A former CIA station chief in Algeria is under investigation by the State and Justice departments after being accused of raping at least two women while he held the post, a source confirmed to CNN on Wednesday.

The women told investigators that they think date-rape drugs were used in the assaults, which are said to have occurred at the officer's official residence, according to the source.

The story was first reported by ABC News.

The allegations were made in the fall, when the unidentified officer was still serving as station chief. In October, soon after the allegations were made, the man returned to the United States for a previously scheduled trip and was ordered not to return to his post, the source said.

A senior U.S. official confirmed that the case is under investigation but refused to comment on the details.

State Department spokesman Robert Wood issued a brief statement in response to a CNN inquiry, saying that "the individual in question has returned to Washington and the U.S. government is looking into the matter," and referring reporters to the Justice Department.

The women, who are Algerian citizens, brought their allegations to a U.S. government official, and federal authorities then launched an investigation.

A search of the station chief's residence in Algeria was approved by a U.S. District Court judge after a request from the Justice Department. The search found pills believed to be of a type commonly used in date rape, the source said.

In that search, authorities also found about a dozen tapes that are thought to show the officer engaged in sexual acts, the source said, including some in which women are believed to be in a semiconscious state. CNN's source had not seen the tapes but had been briefed on their content. Some of the tapes include date stamps indicating that the recordings happened when he would have been serving in Cairo, Egypt, before his tenure in Algeria.
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The investigation includes his time in both posts as well as other locations where he traveled.

England Bans "Sexually Violent" Imagery

A new British law gone into effect whereby people caught with 'sexually violent' images faces imprisonment of up to three years. From the BBC:

A law banning violent online porn has come into force following a campaign by a mother whose daughter was murdered.

The legislative change comes after Graham Coutts, 39, of Hove, Sussex, was jailed in 2003 for strangling Jane Longhurst for his sexual gratification.

Her mother Liz, from Berkshire, was backed by Reading MP Martin Salter.

The ban became part of the Criminal Justice and Immigration Bill last May and anyone caught with sexually violent images faces up to three years in jail.

Mrs Longhurst said her daughter, who was 31 when she was killed, would be "glad" about the law.

Under the new rules, criminal responsibility shifts from the producer - who is responsible under the 1959 Obscene Publications Act (OPA) - to the consumer.

Mrs Longhurst, from Reading, told BBC News: "Hardly a moment goes by when I don't think of Jane.

"I think she would be glad such a law is now in force.

"And, I think she would be quite pleased at how I have been able to move on."

I wonder what definitions they are using to define "sexually violent" imagery. As the American experience with obscenity has demonstrated, defining subsets of pornography is not an easy exercise. 

H/T: How Appealing.

Gary Glitter Gives up Fight, Will be Registered Sex Offender

Gary Glitter, the British glam rock star whose legal troubles have been previously discussed, has given up his fight to have his name taken off Britain's sex offender registry. As you may remember, Glitter spent nearly three years in a Vietnamese prison for abusing two young females. From KTRK:

Glitter was ordered to sign the register after serving nearly three years in prison in Vietnam for abusing two young girls. The BBC reports Glitter's lawyer believes Glitter won't get a fair hearing in the case because of media attention.

Glitter's name will stay on the registry for life. He must tell police if he moves, if he stays somewhere else for 7 days or if he travels abroad for more than 3 days.

"Blow-up doll sex suspect arrested in Australia"

In Australia, a man is accused of breaking into an adult shop and having sex with the blow-up dolls. CrimProf Blog also has the story. From CNN:

The 23-year-old allegedly broke into the Laneway Adult Shop in the northen Australian city of Cairns on several occasions, having sex with a doll named "Jungle Jane," the Cairns Post reported.

It earlier quoted the store's owner saying the burglar always cleaned up after himself, but the dolls were dumped unceremoniously in an alleyway behind the store.

"He has been taking the dolls out the back and blowing them up and using the dolls and leaving them in the alley," he said. "It is totally bizarre."

Police have charged the unidentified man, believed to be from the city's Manunda suburb, with four counts of breaking and entering. They told the paper that DNA samples had been recovered from one of the dolls.

"Following intelligence-based inquiries, we attended a Manunda address and made an arrest," police spokesman Jason Chetham said, according to the Post.

California Appellate Court Agrees To Hear Polanski's Argument

The ABA Journal is reporting that a California appellate court has "agreed to hear a claim by fugitive film director Roman Polanski that the criminal system has been biased in its handling of a decades-old child-rape case against him." The Mercury News has more. From the ABA Journal:

Staying a planned Wednesday hearing in Los Angeles Superior Court, the 2nd District Court of Appeals has agreed to hear Polanski's emergency appeal concerning the trial court's refusal to move the proceedings to another jurisdiction, according to the Associated Press and an earlier L.A. Now blog post published in the Los Angeles Times before the appeal was granted.

Underlying the recusal matter, the trial court has been asked to dismiss the case against Polanski due to alleged bias. "Los Angeles prosecutors earlier this month argued the Paris-based Polanski was not entitled to the hearing because he had 'voluntarily remained a fugitive from justice' since 1978," recounts Agence France Presse.

Polanski pleaded guilty to the statutory rape of a 13-year-old girl in the late 1970s, but left the country before sentencing. He now lives as a fugitive in France.

Judge in Northern Ireland Bars Newspaper From Publishing Sex Offender's Picture

A judge across the pond in Northern Ireland has enjoined a newspaper from publishing pictures of a convicted sex offender. From the Belfast Telegraph:

A judge in the North has barred a newspaper from publishing photographs of a convicted sex offender.

He said publication would have disrupted his private life and he had a right to privacy.

Mr Justice Stephens ruled the Sunday Life newspaper cannot publish photographs of convicted sex offender Kenneth Callaghan, aged 40.

He was sentenced to life 10 years ago for bludgeoning Carol Jane Gouldie, 21, and sexually assaulting her as she lay dying at her Belfast home.

During a pre-release scheme, Callaghan brought the action against the newspaper group after he discovered it intended to publish photographs of him.

The judge said there was no evidence a photo would lead to a real and immediate risk to his life, but the paper's articles had been hostile and lacked balance and a photo would disrupt his home, his private life and his family.

Somehow, I don't think we can expect a similar holding here in the states.

Will Roman Get a Reprieve?

Jeralyn at TalkLeft recently had a post calling for a pardon for director Roman Polanski:

Director Roman Polanski, now age 75, has filed a new motion to have the sex assault charges against him dismissed. His motion alleges prosecutorial and judicial misconduct, revealed in a recent HBO documentary on the case. The statements were made by the deputy DA on the case and a judge. The victim in the case, then 13, now 43, has wanted the charges dropped for years, and still does....

My view (and not just based on the documentary): Drop the charges and let Roman come home.

I haven't seen the documentary and don't know too much about the case, so I can't say if Polanski is truly deserving. However, something always makes me a little queasy when the rich and powerful get a little more attention when it comes to executive pardons. For the pardon power to serve as a meaningful tool in providing justice, it should be applied fairly and without regard to the social status of the offenders. 

British Father Rapes Daughters Over 27 Years

A British man has been accused of raping two of his daughters over 27 years, resulting in nineteen pregnancies and nine births.  The case appears similar to an Austrian case, which was previously discussed here. From CNN:

A British man was jailed Tuesday for raping two of his daughters and fathering nine children over 27 years, a case with echoes of Austria's Josef Fritzl.

The two daughters were made pregnant 19 times; there were nine births, five miscarriages and five terminations. Seven of the children are alive but suffer genetic deformities.

The father, who cannot be named for legal reasons banning the identification of his victims and the surviving children, pleaded guilty Tuesday at Sheffield Crown Court, northern England, and was sentenced to serve 25 life sentences to run concurrently.

The judge said the minimum term the 56-year-old rapist should serve in jail should be 19½ years.

South Yorkshire Police Chief Superintendent Simon Torr said, "The victims of these terrible crimes have asked me to state the following: 'His detention in prison brings us only the knowledge that he cannot physically touch us again. The suffering he has caused will continue for many years, and we must now concentrate our thoughts on finding the strength to rebuild our lives.' "

Speaking for the police, Torr added, "The main concern ... is for those who have been so badly affected: the victims who have suffered a terrible ordeal. We will continue to offer them our full support to try and help them get on with their lives.

"As far as the sentence goes, we are satisfied that this offender has received the strongest possible punishment for his heinous crimes. Now we need to ensure continuing support for those who have suffered as a result of his actions."

The daughters first told police about their ordeal in June, but the abuse dated to 1981.

It emerged that in 1998 one daughter rang Childline, a charity to help abused kids, and asked for assurances about being able to keep her children if she came forward. When Childline could not make that guarantee, the daughter did nothing more to raise her plight.

The UK's Press Association reported that the rapes began in 1981 with daily attacks and that for long periods, they would be raped up to three times a week, and the assaults would continue through pregnancies. Their only reprieve came after they had just given birth or when they were ill because of the abuse.

If either daughter tried to refuse their father's attacks, they would be punched, kicked and or held to the flames of a gas fire, burning their eyes and arms, PA reported.

Despite visiting hospitals and meeting with social workers over the 27 years of abuse, no investigation was launched into the family.

The case comes in the wake of the death of a baby, known only as Baby P, which has dominated headlines in Britain. The baby endured horrendous torture and died despite being on the local authority's child protection register.

In Austria this year, Josef Fritzl was arrested, accused of keeping his daughter in a basement dungeon and fathering seven children through the rapes.

Where Adultery is Still a Crime

There is a major scandal breaking in South Korea because of an actress involved in criminal adultery. This article highlights the unusual history of South Korea's adultery laws:

South Korean prosecutors on Wednesday demanded a popular actress who tried to overturn the country's law that criminalizes adultery be thrown in jail for a year and a half for having an affair, local media reported.

South Korean enacted its adultery law more than 50 years ago to protect women who had few rights in the male-dominated society but critics say now it is a draconian measure no longer fit for a country with an advanced civil and family court system.

Actress Ok So-ri's case has created a sensation in South Korea after she admitted to an affair with a singer and called on the country's Constitutional Court to overturn the statute that can send a person to jail for up to two years for adultery.

"The accuser (her husband) wanted a severe sentence," prosecutors said in court as to why they are seeking 18 months in jail for Ok, Yonhap news agency reported. Prosecutors were not available for comment.

Where adultery laws are still on the books in the United States, they are historical relics from a different time in America. It is interesting that South Korea's laws are of more recent origin and were obstensibly designed to protect women.