Roman Polanski, statutory rape, and age of consent
Was it wrong for director Roman Polanski to have sex with a 13-year-old?
What happened
The documentary Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired, which investigates the 1978 case against the renowned director in which he pleaded guilty to having sex with a 13-year-old girl before fleeing the U.S. to avoid sentencing, recently premiered on HBO. The film has since stirred a debate over cultural attitudes toward age of consent laws.
What the commentators said
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
This documentary shows that Polanski may have gotten a bad rap, said Juliet Lapidos in the Slate blog The XX Factor. Yes, “thirteen is young—no doubt about it.” But 18 seems “a little old.” Age of consent laws “are very culture- and century-specific,” and “not everyone’s sexual desires fit neatly into the particular mores of the time they live in.”
“No matter what Polanski believed,” said Cynthia Fuchs in PopMatters.com, “in the U.S. a 13-year-old cannot ‘consent’ to sex.” But the documentary never suggests that Polanski “is not responsible for what he’s done, or that he was reckless regarding consequences.” Wanted and Desired is more interested “in the treatment of Polanski by the U.S. press and legal system.”
The U.S. press treated Polanski much differently than the European press did, said Christopher Campbell in the blog Cinematical. “To Americans, he was a villain—a rich, short foreigner who came over and defiled a little girl.” But in Europe, he was viewed as a talented artist “facing a terrible ordeal.”
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Children's health has declined in the US
The Explainer It's likely a sign of larger systemic issues
-
Judge nixes wiping medical debt from credit checks
Speed Read Medical debt can now be included in credit reports
-
Grijalva wins Democratic special primary for Arizona
Speed Read She will go up against Republican nominee Daniel Butierez to fill the US House seat her father held until his death earlier this year