GENEVA — Roman Polanski is headed for house arrest after the Swiss Justice Ministry decided not to appeal a court decision to release the director from jail.
Polanski will be moved from jail to house arrest at his family chalet in Gstaad as soon as he posts $4.5 million bail and meets other conditions set forth Wednesday by a Swiss court, the Associated Press reports.
"He must not leave this house," the Justice Ministry said in a statement. "Should he violate the terms of release, the bail will be forfeited to the Swiss government."
A spokesperson for the ministry told AP that steps were being taken to protect Polanki during his release.
"We don't want to show him off like an exotic animal," the spokesperson said.
Polanski has been in a Swiss jail since Sept. 26. He was arrested while en route to accept a lifetime achievement award from the Zurich International Film Festival. U.S. authorities are hoping to extradite the 76-year-old star, who has managed to escape sentencing for more than 30 years. In 1978, he was charged with drugging and then having unlawful sex with a 13-year-old girl at the home of Jack Nicholson. The charges were later dropped as part of a plea bargain, with the director admitting to a lesser charge of unlawful sex with a minor.
The victim in the case, Samantha Geimer, has publicly said that she has already forgiven Polanski and feels he has been treated unfairly. Geimer, now a mother of four, also believes Polanski should remain free.
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