Los Angeles event Wednesday regarding Polanski

Clergy sex abuse victims angry at Polanski

SNAP urges State Dept. to extradite him quickly

Group pleads with citizens to boycott all his films

"Let's stop buying from his buddies too," victims say

Self help organization blasts Martin Scorsece & Woody Allen

Prosecutors are praised for their 'persistence' and 'equal treatment'

WHAT:
Holding signs & photos of themselves at the age they were abused, victims of child sex abuse will:
-- blast Roman Polanski and his supporters, who apparently believe that drugging a raping a 13-year-old child is not a serious crime,
-- announce a boycott of films and television shows made by Polanski and his outspoken defenders
-- praise the LA District Attorney for vigilance in the case, and
-- encourage all victims of sex abuse to come forward and report crimes, despite re-victimization by the Hollywood elite

WHEN:
Wednesday, September 30, 11:00 am

WHO:
Three to four sexual abuse victims, their families and their supporters who are members of a support group called SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAPnetwork.org)

WHERE
Outside of the LA District Attorney's Office, 210 West Temple Street, Los Angeles

WHY:
Earlier this week, Swiss officials announced the arrest of film director Roman Polanski, who pled guilty to raping a child in the 1970s. Roughly 30 years ago, Polanski fled the US before his sentencing, and has been a fugitive ever since.

SNAP wants US State Department officials to work hard so Polanski is brought back to the US to face justice quickly. The group feels that kids are safest when proven child predators are imprisoned.

Since his arrest and the announcement that he will be extradited to the US, some entertainment figures have expressed sympathy for him. These public statements of support, SNAP says, make teenagers who are being victimized now feel intimidated and hopeless, thus staying silent and enabling their predators to keep hurting them and others. Rallying around admitted child rapists also rubs salt into the wounds of other rape victims, both adults and kids, SNAP believes.

While sympathetic to Polanski's painful child hood and his wife's murder, SNAP feels that's irrelevant, as is his victim's personal decision to forgive him. What matters most, SNAP feels, is that a child predator is kept away from kids and that criminals learn they can't simply hire smart lawyers, make themselves popular, flee the country, and get off scot-free.

CONTACT
Joelle Casteix of SNAP, 949 322 7434, David Clohessy 314 566 9790