Director Roman Polanski arrested in Switzerland

Famed film director Roman Polanski was arrested in Switzerland. The reason for the arrest was due to 1978 U.S. arrest warrant for the act of statuary rape of a 13 year old girl.

Polanski, 76 was in Switzerland to receive an award for his prolific career in film, directing such hit films as ‘Rosemary's Baby', ‘Chinatown', and ‘The Pianist' in which he won an Oscar in 2003 for best director. The award was to be received at the Zurich Film Festival tonight, but when he arrived in the Zurich airport he was arrested by authorities.

The order for his arrest had been instructed by the Federal Justice Department in Berne. Polanski L.A. agent and the U.S. embassy in Zurich have yet to make a statement regarding the matter.

As reported on ABCNews.com, "Polanski was arrested in the United States in the late 1970s and charged with giving drugs and alcohol to a 13-year-old girl and having unlawful sex with her at a photographic shoot at Jack Nicholson's Hollywood home."

Polanski stood his ground, claiming that despite the girls age she was sexually experienced and it was consensual. During this time he spent 42 days in jail going through psychiatric tests but before sentencing he fled the country. He has lived France most of the time and other countries that do not have extradition treaties with the U.S. where he is considered a fugitive.

While filming in Europe in 1969, the Manson ‘Family' brutally murdered Polanski's pregnant wife actress Sharon Tate and four other guests at the couples L.A. home. Susan Atkins who was the one that murdered the pregnant Tate died on Thursday, just two days before Polanski being arrested according to CNN.com.