Polanski wants sex charge dropped

Lawyers acting for Roman Polanski have asked a Californian court to dismiss a sex charge brought against the director 30 years ago.

His legal team claims to have uncovered new evidence which shows that "judicial and prosecutorial misconduct" had distorted the legal process, reports Reuters.

The 75-year-old fled to France from America in 1978, having faced prison after pleading guilty to having sex with a 13-year-old girl.

However, lawyers for the French-Polish filmmaker claim that a recent documentary about him reveals that the legal process was distorted to such an extent that "the interests of justice can only be served with complete dismissal of the case".

In Roman Polanski: Wanted And Desired, documentary makers tracked down Polanski's lawyer at the time, the alleged victim and her lawyer, reporters, and film industry colleagues, who spoke of 'troubling behaviour' by the late judge.

Polanski's legal team, Chad Hummel and Bart Dalton, said in a statement that the documentary had revealed a "pattern of misconduct and improper communications" between the court and prosecutors. A hearing on the Oscar-winning director's motion is scheduled for January 21.