Roman Polanski busted

It's been 31 years since Roman Polanski fled after pleading guilty to raping a 13-year-old girl. He jumped bond and fled to France after it appeared that a judge was not going to follow a plea bargain that limited incareration to 46 days time served.
That kind of thing wouldn't happen in Texas. If Texas judges decide not to follow a plea bargain, they have to let the defendant withdraw his plea. But not so in federal court and apparently California. There, once a defendant pleads, he is stuck with it even if the judge rejects the plea bargained sentence recommendation of the prosecution.
What amazes me isn't that Polanski ran. I'm amazed that he is getting so much sympathy.
At the end of the day, Polanski was a baby raper. He did the nasty with a 13-year-old. That's simply unacceptable conduct.
As a criminal defense lawyer, I'm used to making just about any argument to help my clients, but Polansky's supporters have one-upped me. One is arguing that the 76-year-old film director has "atoned for the sins of his younger years" by not being able to enter the United States and work in Hollywood.
Come on. His younger years? He was 45 years old at the time of the rape. That isn't a mistake by a hormone-crazed teen-aged boy. He was an adult and should have known better.
I know Polanski has had serious troubles in his life. He is a Holocaust survivor whose mother was murdered in Auschwitz. His wife, Sharon Tate, was murdered along with their unborn child by the Charles Manson family. He has and deserves my sympathy for that. But, he still has to face justice for the sexual assault of a child.
However, there may be some light at the end of the tunnel for Polanski. A California judge earlier found substantial misconduct in the case involving a prosecutor not assigned to Polanski's case. It's possible that he may get the benefit of the plea bargain he agreed to. Or, the charges may be dismissed due to prosecutorial misconduct.
If there was prosecutorial misconduct, Polanski deserves relief and the prosecutor -- now retired -- should be punished. But, it doesn't change the fact that Polanski stood in open court and admitted having sex with a child.
He should be returned to the United States so the legal system can do its job. The matter can't be resolved as long as he is a fugitive.
Now the tough question: Why was he allowed to live in France for three decades while he was a fugitive from justice. Sure, he's a French citizen. And, one would expect France to protect its citizens. But when the French foreign minister says it "just isn't nice" to expect Polanski to be held accountable for a crime he admitted is going just a bit far.
Maybe it's time to take a new, long look at the extradition treaty the United States has with France. It may be time for an update.