It’s nothing new that people of a certain status in life enjoy certain perks. The more talent a person posses, the higher his or her position of power, the more money the individual earns and the more social allowances he or she will be granted.

This system of privilege most likely has been in place since the dawn of humanity. I’m sure the best playwrights or gladiators were granted societal forgiveness for their wrongdoings as well. But, however naive it might make me, I would like to hope that modern society has less allowance for such behavior. Following the news over the past few weeks, however, it appears that I am very much mistaken.

Of course, I’m talking about the recent extradition of Roman Polanski.

For those of you who are not aware of the case, let me briefly summarize. In 1977, Polanski (famous for directing films such as “Rosemary’s Baby” and “The Pianist”) plead guilty to the rape of a 13-year-old girl.

The girl accused Polanski of providing her with alcohol and other drugs, taking her to the home of Jack Nicholas, where he then forced several sexual acts upon her. After pleading guilty, Polanski fled California to Europe, where he owns several homes and continued his career as an internationally acclaimed director.

This past week it was learned that Polanski planned to enter the country of Switzerland for a film festival, where he was arrested by the Swiss government with the intention to extradite the director to the United States.

There are several factors which convolute this case. Polanski was of course married to the famous Manson murder victim Sharon Tate, and claims that these events severely affected his mental status.

Furthermore, it is questioned whether or not Polanski was truly aware of the victim’s age. (At the time, the age of consent in California was 16, with Polanski claiming he believed the girl was 17).

Despite these issues, a few core facts still remain. Polanski engaged in sexual acts with a 13-year-old. Polanski continued to perform these acts even after the girl repeatedly said no. There is no excuse for these actions.

But according to many in entertainment industry, Polanski ought to be forgiven. Just because he makes good films, this negates his past actions. A quote from photographer outlines this thought perfectly. “He’s a brilliant guy, and he made a little mistake 32 years ago.”

Let me repeat that for everyone. Giving a girl quaaludes (sedatives) and performing unwanted oral, vaginal, and anal sex is just “a little mistake.” This is where I have to draw the line. No, international public, that is not a little mistake.

Unpaid parking tickets are little mistakes. It can even be argued that sexual offenses such as public urination are little mistakes. But rape is never, and will never be, a little mistake. As a woman, I am horrified that anyone is excusing this. As a writer I am horrified that anyone would use talent as a reason to excuse it. Roman Polanski is not a special case. Sexual misconduct is sexual misconduct; that is the end of the story.