Roman Polanski has been arrested in Switzerland and faces extradition to the US on his outstanding conviction for statutory rape dating back to 1977. If he chooses not to contest the extradition, he could be back in the US within days; if not, it could take months.
The director was convicted of unlawful sex with an underage girl in 1977, and fled the US in 1978 after it appeared that the sentencing judge was going to renege on a plea bargain that had been made. Since then, he has avoided countries with extradition treaties to the US, but has visited Switzerland on many previous occasions without incident.
It remains to be seen what will come of this 31 year old case now. A recent documentary suggested wrongdoing on the part of the judge in the case, and the woman involved in the original incident has publicly said that she wants the matter dropped, but Polanski's flight from justice left the arrest warrant still very much standing.