Roman Polanski's lawyers have asked a U.S. judge to unseal secret testimony by the original prosecutor in the director's 33-year-old sex case - in a bid to help Swiss authorities rule on his extradition case.
The Rosemary's Baby director has been confined to his Swiss chalet since December (09), following his September (09) arrest in Zurich, 32 years after he fled America and skipped sentencing on a child-sex charge.
Lawmakers in an appeals court in Los Angles ruled last week (23Apr10) that the Oscar winner cannot be sentenced in absentia and must now return to California to receive his punishment after pleading guilty to having unlawful sex with 13-year-old Samantha Geimer at a party in 1977.
And on Thursday (29Apr10), the star's lawyers, Chad Hummel and Bart Dalton, requested permission to submit the testimony of retired Deputy District Attorney Roger Gunson to Swiss authorities.
Gunson testified earlier this year (09) in a conditional examination but L.A.'s Superior Court Judge Peter Espinoza kept the transcripts sealed.
Polanski's attorneys claim the transcripts will prove that the extradition request is based on false and incomplete statements by officials at the Los Angeles District Attorney's office.