Roman Polanski (file)
Roman Polanski (file)Reuters

Filmmaker Roman Polanski said he "trusts" Poland's justice system as it weighs extraditing him to the United States for sentencing on charges he raped a 13-year-old girl in 1977.

"I will comply with the legal proceedings," Polanski told private Polish television station TVN24 in an interview on Monday"I trust the Polish justice system. I hope everything will go well."

The latest extradition request comes months after the United States attempted to have the French-Polish director arrested for sex offenses when he travelled to Warsaw for the opening of a Jewish museum in October.

At that time, Polish prosecutors questioned the 81-year-old maker of "The Pianist", "Chinatown" and "Rosemary's Baby" but allowed him to walk free.

Polanski told the television he is in Poland to work on a film about France's Dreyfus Affair, the case of an army captain wrongly convicted in 1894 of espionage and treason.

The story of the captain's ordeal has become a symbol of injustice and anti-Semitism.

Polanski was accused of raping Samantha Geimer after a photo shoot in Los Angeles in 1977 when he was 43.

He pleaded guilty to unlawful sex with a minor, or statutory rape, avoiding a trial, but then fled the country fearing a hefty sentence.

US officials have pressed for his extradition regularly to no avail.

American prosecutors forwarded their latest request on Monday to Polish authorities which have said Polanski's extradition remains possible.

However, even if a court approves the US request, Poland's justice ministry would still need to give the final go-ahead.

Polanski, who became a French citizen in 1976 after moving there from Poland, was arrested in Switzerland on an international warrant in 2009. He was released after nine months under house arrest.

Polanski's lawyers had requested a new hearing to try to close the case on procedural grounds, but a Los Angeles judge refused last month.

AFP contributed to this report