French Minister Slammed Over Sex Tourism

They 'didn't know she was underage,' says attorney

(NEWSER) - Two French soccer stars were grilled yesterday about sex with a teen prostitute by Paris officials investigating an underage sex ring operating out of nightclubs. A teen prostitute working for a Paris nightclub told police she had sex with the players, but attorneys for both Franck Ribéry, 27, and Karim Benzema, 22, said they had no idea the girl was underage, reports the BBC. If convicted of the sex charges, the men could each face up to 3 years in prison and a $30,000 fine. The investigation was delayed until after the World Cup so that the players could compete in the competition. More»

Calls for director's release dropped as public backlash grows

(NEWSER) - The governments of France and Poland are beginning to distance themselves from Roman Polanski amid a public backlash against earlier support for the film director, who holds passports from both countries. In France—where the foreign minister called for Polanski's release earlier this week—a government spokesman said yesterday that the director "is neither above nor beneath the law. There is a legal process underway for a serious affair—the rape of a minor," he added. More»

Hollywood supporters facing off against angry feminists over sex with teen

(NEWSER) - Whoopi Goldberg's comment that Roman Polanski's sex with a 13-year-old girl wasn't really "rape-rape" has added fuel to the growing conflagration between the film director's Hollywood supporters and angry feminists. "I know it wasn't rape-rape. I think it was something else, but I don't believe it was rape-rape," Goldberg said on The View. Goldberg also implies that such sex wouldn't have been such a big deal in broad-minded Europe. More»

Including the big one—why now?

(NEWSER) - Scratching your head over this Roman Polanski business? Don’t worry, we’re here to help. Here are some common questions and answers, courtesy of Slate:

• Why didn’t the French ever arrest the guy? Born in Paris, he's one of their own. France doesn’t have to extradite its citizens, and typically doesn’t except for especially heinous crimes.
• Why did the Swiss do it now? Because the US asked them to, possibly spurred to do so after Polanski moved to have his criminal charges dropped in December.

French, Polish ministers ask Clinton for leniency

(NEWSER) - Roman Polanski is “shocked and dumbfounded” by the Swiss government’s decision to arrest him but is “in fighting mood” and won't be extradited easily, his lawyer said today. Diplomatic wrangling continued over Polanski’s fate, as the French and Polish foreign ministers said they had written to Hillary Clinton to ask for leniency for the director and confessed child rapist. Producer Harvey Weinstein and actors Monica Bellucci and Fanny Ardant also backed his release. More»