At the end of Roman Polanski’s Chinatown, with John Huston’s sins revealed and Jack Nicholson ready to throw down, we hear the famous line, “Forget it, Jake. It’s Chinatown.”
Well, it looks like the Los Angeles District Attorney didn’t forget it. Last weekend, Swiss authorities arrested Hollywood’s most famous fugitive, and the decades-old sexual abuse case has been living on the front page since. L.A. Dist. Atty. Steve Cooley vows to bring Polanski to justice for drugging and raping then 13-year-old Samantha Geimer, but the director, backed by a number of high-profile Hollywood supporters, is threatening to fight extradition every step of the way.
Let’s break it down by numbers:
44
Polanski’s age at the time of the crime in 1977.
13
Victim Samantha Gailey’s (now Samantha Geimer) age.
18
Age of consent in California where the crime occurred. California’s first penal code in 1850 criminalized sex with girls under the age of 10. The age of consent was raised to 14 in 1889, to 16 in 1897, and finally to 18 in 1913, according to Slate’s Explainer column.
12
Number of U.S. states where the age of consent is 18, according to Wikipedia. 31 states plus District of Columbia have state laws making the age of consent 16, while 17 is the age of consent in 7 states.
3
Number of countries today (Japan, South Korea and Spain) where the legal age of consent is 13, according to The Daily Beast.
30
Approximate number of countries today (including Austria, Italy, and Lichtenstein) where the age of consent is 14, according to The Daily Beast.
6
Number of initial charges brought against Polanski in the 1977 indictment, including rape by use of drugs, child molesting and sodomy.
1
Number of charges Polanski eventually pleaded guilty to, which was unlawful sexual intercourse.
16
Approximate number of times then 13-year-old Samantha Gailey claims to have told Polanksi “no” the night of the incident, which included him offering her champagne and quaaludes, skinny dipping together and him having oral, vaginal and anal sex with her, according to the transcript of Gailey’s 1977 grand jury testimony on The Smoking Gun.
2
Number of times then 13-year-old Samantha Gailey said she had sex previous to her encounter with Polanski, according to the transcript of her 1977 grand jury testimony on The Smoking Gun. She also admitted to having drank champagne and tried quaaludes previous to her incident with Polanski.
90
Number of days Polanski was ordered to spend at California’s Chino state prison to undergo a psychiatric evaluation, according to the Los Angeles Times.
42
Number of days Polanski spent in Chino before he was released, according to the Los Angeles Times. Those 42 days served were the original sentence Judge Rittenband agreed to for the single charge.
15
Mandatory minimum number of years in state prison for rape, sodomy or a lewd act with a child, pursuant to a current state law, according to MSNBC quoting former prosecutor Robin Sax on how laws regarding sex offenders having changed since the 1970s.
14
Approximate number of months that elapsed between former Los Angeles Deputy District Attorney David Wells’ two contradictory statements regarding Polanski’s sentencing. In July of 2008, Wells told The New York Times that he stood by claims he had made in the 2007 HBO documentary Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired about having advised Judge Laurence J. Rittenband on how to sentence Polanski. Earlier this week, Wells recanted his story, telling the same paper, “I’ve got to tell you, I lied.”
31
Number of years Polanski has been a fugitive from justice.
27
Number of years that elapsed after Polanski fled the U.S. before American authorities sought his return by issuing an international arrest warrant, according to The Guardian.
2
Number of separate documents filed by Polanski’s lawyers with the California 2nd District Court of Appeals asking for a dismissal of all charges against the director, according to CBS.
23,599
Number of fans on the “Roman Polanski” Facebook page.
1,827
Number of members in the “Free Roman Polanski” Facebook group.
312
Number of members of the “Roman Polanski Should Be Extradited to the U.S.” Facebook group.
79
Number of members of the “Roman Polanski Is Adorable” Facebook group.
$95,905
Total worldwide gross for the theatrical release (released in only 9 theaters) of HBO’s Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired, according to BoxOfficeMojo.com.
$154,086,901
Total U.S. grosses of Polanski-directed films including Rosemary’s Baby, Chinatown, and The Pianist, according to The-Numbers.com.
$120,000,000
Total worldwide gross of Polanski’s 1992 film The Pianist, according to The-Numbers.com.
100
Approximate number of Hollywood directors who have signed a petition in support of Roman Polanski. According to the Los Angeles Times, the list includes Martin Scorsese, David Lynch, Michael Mann, Mike Nichols and Woody Allen.
