A Polish court on Friday rejected an attempt to extradite Roman Polanski back to the U.S. over his 1977 conviction for having sex with a then-13-year-old girl.
The Oscar-winning film director did not appear in court to hear the ruling due to “emotional reasons,” his lawyer Jan Olszewski told the judge.
Prosecutors have seven days to appeal the decision.
Shiara Davila-Morales, media-relations chief for the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office, which had been seeking Polanski’s extradition, told TheWrap, “Our position on this matter remains the same.”
Polanski pleaded guilty in 1977 of having unlawful sex with a 13-year-old girl in Los Angeles. He was charged with six offenses, including rape by use of drugs and sodomy.
After serving 42 days in jail as part of a 90-day plea deal, Polanski fled the U.S. for France.
Polanski is in Poland prepping for a film he’ll shoot about Alfred Dreyfus, the 19th-century Jewish French military officer who was put on trail and convicted for treason before later being exonerated.