writing for `` Rosemary 's Baby , '' which he also directed . He was en route to the Zurich Film Festival , which is holding a Polanski tribute this year , when he was arrested by Swiss authorities , the festival said . A provisional arrest warrant was issued last week out of Los Angeles , California , after authorities learned Polanski was going to be in Switzerland , Sandi Gibbons , spokeswoman for the Los Angeles County district attorney 's office , told CNN on Sunday . There have been repeated attempts to settle the case over the years , but the sticking point has always been Polanski 's refusal to return to attend hearings . Prosecutors have consistently argued that it would be a miscarriage of justice to allow a man to go free who `` drugged and raped a 13-year-old child . '' The Swiss Justice Ministry said Polanski was put `` in provisional detention . '' But whether he can be extradited to the United States `` can be established only after the extradition process judicially has been finalised , '' a ministry spokesman said in an e-mail . `` It is possible to appeal
-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Oscar-winning filmmaker Roman Polanski has been arrested in Switzerland on a decades-old arrest warrant stemming from a sex charge in California , Swiss police said Sunday . Roman Polanski attends a film premiere in Paris , France , in June 2009 . Polanski , 76 , was taken into custody trying to enter Switzerland on Saturday , Zurich police said . A spokesman for the Swiss Justice Ministry said Polanski was arrested upon arrival at the airport . He has lived in France for decades to avoid being arrested if he enters the United States and declined to appear in person to collect his Academy Award for Best Director for `` The Pianist '' in 2003 . The director pleaded guilty in 1977 to a single count of having unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor , acknowledging he had sex with a 13-year-old girl . But he fled the United States before he could be sentenced , and U.S. authorities have had a warrant for his arrest since 1978 . Watch what happens now for Polanski '' Polanski was nominated for best director Oscars for `` Tess '' and `` Chinatown , '' and for best