Just curious -- what's the difference between Roman Polanski and Alex Kelly? Kelly was not famous, fled to Europe to avoid rape charges and was villified on serveral news programs for fleeing.
Why should Polanski be treated and thought of any differently?
Alex Kelly was charged with committing two rapes in Darien, Connecticut, in 1986. Before his trial was due to begin in 1987, Kelly fled the United States and spent the next seven years on the run, mostly in Europe. [1] Kelly's parents allegedly financed him during this seven-year period, although they may have been unaware of his exact locations. Law-enforcement authorities suspected this was the case and, on at least one occasion, raided the parents' house in an attempt to find evidence of Kelly's location or their assistance to him. No legal action, however, was taken against them. [2] Because Kelly was on the run in Europe, he missed the funeral when his older brother died.
In 1995, Kelly surrendered to authorities in Switzerland just as his passport was about to expire. He was extradited to the United States in order to stand trial on rape and kidnapping charges. Several lesser counts were excluded, as they were not specifically listed in the extradition treaty between the two nations. [3] Kelly faced two trials in 1997. After the first was declared a mistrial, the second resulted in his conviction for the first rape and a sentence of 16 years in prison. [4] He pleaded no contest to the second rape. [5]