Not endorsing, just reporting. The reason is likely that the man apologized and made peace with the victim decades ago, and they (like the victim) are also of the opinion that Polanski was set up by a crooked judge who was going to exploit the situation and really ruin Polanski’s life with a last minute extreme punishment for a bit of fame; that Polanski left the country not to evade the accusation, but rather the life-ending punishment he heard the judge had in store for him, and that spending half his life in exile is a kind of ‘time served’ for a guy who, again, has since made amends for his crime with the person who was the victim of that crime. Essentially, these Hollywood people are saying, he’s one of our greatest artists, and the matter has been settled everywhere but in the American justice system for long enough that the matter ought to be dropped.
Not endorsing, just reporting. The reason is likely that the man apologized and made peace with the victim decades ago, and they (like the victim) are also of the opinion that Polanski was set up by a crooked judge who was going to exploit the situation and really ruin Polanski’s life with a last minute extreme punishment for a bit of fame; that Polanski left the country not to evade the accusation, but rather the life-ending punishment he heard the judge had in store for him, and that spending half his life in exile is a kind of ‘time served’ for a guy who, again, has since made amends for his crime with the person who was the victim of that crime. Essentially, these Hollywood people are saying, he’s one of our greatest artists, and the matter has been settled everywhere but in the American justice system for long enough that the matter ought to be dropped.