Polanski seeks to have sex charges dropped

LOS ANGELES, Dec. 3 (UPI) -- Roman Polanski's lawyers have filed a request in a Los Angeles court asking that criminal charges brought against the filmmaker 30 years ago be dropped.

The Oscar-winning director pleaded guilty to a charge of unlawful intercourse with a minor after he was accused of having sex with a 13-year-old girl in actor Jack Nicholson's home in 1977. Shortly before he was due to be sentenced, the French-born Polanski fled the United States and headed to Europe. He has not returned since.

The Los Angeles Times said Polanski is requesting the case be dismissed in light of "repeated, unlawful and unethical misconduct," allegedly perpetrated by a prosecutor and the trial judge, which the director's lawyers say is evident in the HBO documentary "Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired."

A hearing on the matter is scheduled for Jan. 21 before Judge Peter Espinoza, the Times said.

Polanski's films include "The Pianist," "Rosemary's Baby" and "Chinatown." He is also known for his doomed marriage to Sharon Tate, an actress who was eight month pregnant with his child when she was stabbed to death in 1969 by members of the Manson family cult.