BY JEFF MAYS

Imagine that a 44-year-old man molested your 13-year-old daughter, sister, niece or cousin. First he plied her with drugs and alcohol. While he was raping your relative he realized that he may impregnate her, so instead he sodomized her.

Imagine that the man is charged and pleads guilty to his crimes, but before he can be sentenced, he flees the country and enjoys life in France for more than 30 years while still being acclaimed in his profession. What would you think of that man today?

I'm betting that if authorities captured him you would want him brought to justice. I would. That's why I can't understand why celebrities, such as Whoopi Goldberg and Debra Winger, are trying to defend director Roman Polanski.

And Woody Allen should keep his mouth closed.

Goldberg said: "I know it wasn't rape-rape. I think it was something else, but I don't believe it was rape-rape.
"He plead guilty to having sex with a minor, and he went to jail, and when they let him out, he said, 'You know what, this guy's going to give me 100 years in jail. I'm not staying.' And that's why he left."

Winger said the case was 30 years old and should be "dead" except for "minor technicalities."

Rape and sodomy are not minor. In this country, 13-year-olds cannot consent to sexual intercourse with adults.

"We need consistency in our justice system," Robert Coombs, director of public affairs for the California Coalition Against Sexual Assault told Black Voices in an interview. "The system is already tilted for victims of sexual assault. It's difficult for them to report and harder to return to the community. Why make the system worse?"

Maybe Goldberg and Winger need to read the transcript from the 1977 grand jury proceedings that led to Polanski's indictment.

The victim describes being given alcohol and a Quaalude and sitting in a hot tub with Polanski naked.

A: I was going, 'No, I think I better go home,' because I was afraid. So I just went and I sat down on the couch.
Q: What were you afraid of?
A: Him.

All throughout the transcript the victim testified that she kept saying no, that she wanted to go home, that she didn't want to have sexual intercourse with a 44-year-old man. After it was over, the victim says Polanski knew what he had done was wrong.

He says, 'Don't tell your mother about this and don't tell your boyfriend either.' ... He said something like, 'This is our secret.' And I went, 'Yeah.' And then later he said, 'You know, when I first met you I promised myself I wouldn't do anything like this with you.'

This case is about accountability. There is already a palpable sense among many Americans that the justice system can be easily manipulated based on race and economic status. If this were any average American male without wealth or fame, he would have been in jail a long time ago. If this were not an award-winning director but a bus driver, banker or a teacher, would anyone come to his defense even after he admitted that he raped a child?

"If this happened to an everyday Joe, he would not have had the resources to avoid prosecutors for 30 years. He wouldn't have had the ability to gather support from people who were not affected," said Coombs. "He's had an incredible career. He has traveled the world. But a child has been raped."

Even the victim's sentiments that the case be dropped should be ignored because there is something bigger at stake.

"I'm glad she has gone through the healing process, but her forgiveness is not atonement for a felony," Coombs said. "This case was the People vs. Roman Polanski. She cannot speak for the People."