This Roman Polanski thing is tricky, isn’t it? On one hand he’s been convicted for having unlawful sex with a child.

Then again, Rosemary’s Baby was quite good. Oh, it’s such a dilemma! But at least the Swiss authorities know what to do with Roman Polanski – they’ve granted him bail, so that he can await his extradition back to America under house arrest in the untempered luxury of his Swiss chalet. And it seems like a good idea, too, because it’s not like Roman Polanski has a habit of fleeing the country while he awaits sentencing or anything, is it?

Hey, wait a minute.

You might say that Roman Polanski has already served his sentence for having unlawful sex with a 13-year-old girl – after all, he’s been forced to spend the last 30 years living in mainland Europe, and if three decades of female armpit hair, suspect-looking sausages and alarming red-faced fat men in lederhosen constantly trying to slap your buttock isn’t a fittingly harrowing punishment, we don’t know what is – but tell that to America.

The American authorities have spent 30 years trying to pin Roman Polanski down while he constantly goaded them by appearing at the end of Rush Hour 3 and making versions of Oliver! where nobody even sings any songs about food, but now they’ve got him. Roman Polanski was arrested at a Swiss airport in September, and he’s been in jail awaiting extradition ever since.

Until now, that is, because a Swiss court has just granted Roman Polanksi bail, meaning that he can wait for his extradition under house arrest in his Swiss chalet. The Los Angeles Times reports:

A Swiss Justice Ministry spokesman said that the court approved a $4.5-million bail for the famed director, who faces extradition to Los Angeles to be sentenced for unlawful intercourse with a 13-year-old girl more than three decades ago. Under the bail plan, Polanski would be under electronic monitoring at his Swiss chalet until the justice system decides whether he should be sent to Los Angeles.

We can’t but feel that this is a mistake. Not only does Roman Polanski have a proven history of running away whenever it looks like he’s about to go to jail, but letting him loose in Switzerland seems like a particularly bad idea. What if he goes mad and gets his hands on one of the country’s most dangerous products, like a cuckoo clock or some fancy chocolate or a well-made watch or something? We’d all be done for, that’s what.

Not that we can see what all the fuss is about. At worst, Roman Polanski would only have to face two years in jail. And he’s already had to put up with 30 years of silly little cars and supermarkets that don’t smell quite right, so it’ll be a walk in the park in comparison.

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