Swiss authorities rejected a U.S. request to extradite Academy Award-winning director Roman Polanski, clearing the way for his release 10 months after his surprise detention in Zurich reopened a saga that began with his 1977 arrest in Los Angeles for having sex with a minor.
The Swiss Justice Ministry's rejection of the extradition request turned on the Swiss government's inability to determine whether Mr. Polanski had fulfilled his sentence before he fled the U.S.
Switzerland will not send Roman Polanski back to the United States to face sentencing.
The Swiss decision, and Mr. Polanski's release from custody Monday, was a blow for U.S. authorities who have been trying since the late 1970s to conclude their case against him.
Monday's decision doesn't prevent Los Angeles County prosecutors from continuing to pursue Mr. Polanski, but likely lessens the probability that other governments would cooperate in extradition proceedings.
The State Department sharply rebuked the Swiss decision, and said the Justice Department would decide what steps to take next.
ENLARGE Director Roman Polanski in April at his home in Gstaad, Switzerland. Associated Press
"The rape of a 13-year-old girl by an adult who should know better, and that does know better, is a crime," said State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley. "We will continue to seek justice in this case, and we will evaluate our options."
Los Angeles County District Attorney Steve Cooley said in a statement that his office would continue to seek Mr. Polanski's extradition if he was arrested in another country. He called the Swiss decision "a disservice to justice and other victims as a whole."
Mr. Polanski, director of such films as "Rosemary's Baby" and "Chinatown," has for more than three decades been at the center of a legal drama dating to 1977, when he pleaded guilty to unlawful sexual intercourse with 13-year-old Samantha Geimer. Before his sentencing, however, Mr. Polanski fled to France, where he mostly has lived since.
Last September, acting on a request from U.S. authorities, Swiss police arrested the 76-year-old director when he arrived in Zurich to receive an award at a film festival, setting off a political and cultural firestorm in the U.S. and Europe.
In December, Mr. Polanski won a request to be moved to house arrest at his chalet in the Swiss resort of Gstaad, pending a final decision on whether he would be extradited.
Mr. Polanski's lawyers have argued that the judge in charge of the case in 1977 assured them that the 42 days of detention their client had served in the psychiatric unit of a California jail was all the time he should expect to spend incarcerated. Instead, suspecting that he would receive a longer term at sentencing, Mr. Polanski fled the country.
In recent months, Mr. Polanski's lawyers asked a State Superior Court in Los Angeles to sentence Mr. Polanski in absentia, in order to determine whether he had in fact already served out his sentence. But the court denied the request as long as Mr. Polanski was a fugitive.
In a statement, the Swiss Justice Ministry said it had asked for records of closed-door 1977 hearings to determine whether Mr. Polanski had effectively served his full sentence, but a Los Angeles Superior Court judge decided in May that the records had to remain secret. As a result, the Swiss said, they couldn't determine whether Mr. Polanski had already served his full term. If so, "the proceedings on which the U.S. extradition request is founded…would have no foundation," said the Swiss Justice Ministry.
Bern said no appeal to its decision was possible.
At a news conference Monday, Swiss Justice Minister Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf said the decision to release him was "not about deciding whether he is guilty or not guilty."
Mr. Cooley called the Swiss decision "a rejection of the competency of California courts. The Swiss could not have found a smaller hook on which to hang their hat."
Swiss police went Monday afternoon to Mr. Polanski's luxury, three-story chalet, which he called "Milky Way," to remove the electronic monitoring device he has worn on his ankle since beginning house arrest in December. Several hours later, Swiss media reported he had left the house, though Swiss authorities were unable to confirm Mr. Polanski's whereabouts. Gstaad is about a two-hour drive from France.
Mr. Polanski has dual French-Polish citizenship, and France and the U.S. don't have an extradition treaty.
Mr. Polanski's lawyers in France didn't respond to requests for comment.
Mr. Polanski's personal history has generated some sympathy. He was born in France to Polish-Jewish parents, and the family moved to Poland. He escaped the Jewish ghetto in Krakow in 1940, and his mother later died in Auschwitz. In 1969, his wife, actress Sharon Tate, was murdered by followers of cult leader Charles Manson.
A Three-Decade Legal Pursuit March 1977 : Roman Polanski, 43 years old, has sex with Samantha Geimer, 13.
: Roman Polanski, 43 years old, has sex with Samantha Geimer, 13. August 1977 : Polanski pleads guilty to unlawful intercourse with a minor. While awaiting sentencing, he is incarcerated for 42 days.
: Polanski pleads guilty to unlawful intercourse with a minor. While awaiting sentencing, he is incarcerated for 42 days. January 1978 : Polanski flees the U.S., settles in France.
: Polanski flees the U.S., settles in France. 1997 : According to Polanski's lawyers, a judge in Los Angeles offers to allow Polanski to return to the U.S. without serving prison time if legal proceedings are televised. Polanski rejects the deal. Court officials deny this account.
: According to Polanski's lawyers, a judge in Los Angeles offers to allow Polanski to return to the U.S. without serving prison time if legal proceedings are televised. Polanski rejects the deal. Court officials deny this account. Sept. 26, 2009 : Acting on a request from U.S. authorities, Swiss police arrest Polanski on arrival at the airport in Zurich.
: Acting on a request from U.S. authorities, Swiss police arrest Polanski on arrival at the airport in Zurich. Nov. 25, 2009 : Swiss court releases Polanski to house arrest at his chalet in Gstaad.
: Swiss court releases Polanski to house arrest at his chalet in Gstaad. May 13, 2010 : California court rejects Switzerland's request to see records from closed-door hearings related to Polanksi's sentencing discussions. Swiss authorities sought the records to determine whether Polanski had effectively served his entire sentence during his 42-day detention in 1977.
: California court rejects Switzerland's request to see records from closed-door hearings related to Polanksi's sentencing discussions. Swiss authorities sought the records to determine whether Polanski had effectively served his entire sentence during his 42-day detention in 1977. July 12, 2010: Switzerland rejects the extradition request. The director is freed from house arrest.
While an initial surge of support for Mr. Polanski in Hollywood dissolved quickly last fall, his arrest unleashed a torrent of criticism in France, where the pursuit of a man considered by many as a cultural giant was viewed as a senseless crusade. "To see him thrown to the lions and put in prison because of ancient history is absolutely horrifying," French Culture Minister Frederic Mitterrand said at the time.
In a statement Monday, French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner welcomed Mr. Polanski's release, saying he "can now dedicate himself once again to his artistic pursuits."
Some observers in Europe questioned whether the Swiss sought to curry favor with the U.S. in arresting Mr. Polanski, since it came in the wake of a bruising battle with American authorities over accusations that Switzerland's largest bank, UBS AG, helped thousands of Americans dodge taxes.
During the international furor over the arrest, Swiss Foreign Minister Micheline Calmy-Rey distanced herself from the move, saying the arrest displayed "a lack of tact," although the government officially denied any connection with the tax case. Before publicly announcing the decision Monday, Ms. Widmer-Schlumpf notified the U.S. ambassador to Switzerland of the Justice Ministry's verdict.
Mr. Polanski was accused of giving champagne and part of a Quaalude to Ms. Geimer during a modeling shoot in Los Angeles. He was initially indicted on six counts, including rape by use of drugs, child molestation and sodomy.
In January, Ms. Geimer asked the Los Angeles County Superior Court to dismiss the case.
Many of the high-profile entertainment figures who last year voiced support for Mr. Polanski had no comment Monday. Last fall, shortly after Mr. Polanski's arrest, more than 100 Hollywood figures—from Martin Scorsese and Michael Mann to Tilda Swinton and Woody Allen—signed a petition circulated by film producer Harvey Weinstein, demanding that the director be freed.
On Monday, Mr. Weinstein declined to comment, as did Mr. Polanski's U.S.-based lawyer, Chad Hummel, and his longtime agent and the chief executive of International Creative Management, Jeff Berg. A spokeswoman for Messrs. Scorsese and Allen said they weren't available to comment, as did a representative for Ms. Swinton. A representative for Mr. Mann didn't return calls seeking comment.
—Lauren Schuker, Jay Solomon and Brent Kendall contributed to this article.
Write to Deborah Ball at deborah.ball@wsj.com and Tamara Audi at tammy.audi@wsj.com
On Monday, Swiss authorities refused a request from the U.S. to extradite Polish film director , who has been under house arrest in his chalet in Switzerland since December 2009, on charges stemming from the 1977 accusation that he had sex with an American thirteen-year-old girl, Samantha Geimer, in , California. Though the film director pled guilty to rape and unlawful sexual intercourse, he fled to  before he could be sentenced. 

A top  official, Lanny Breuer, has said that he is "deeply disappointed" with the Swiss decision, and that the U.S. request that Polanski be sent to the United States was completely supported by treaty, facts and the law. Also,  spokesman  P.J. Crowley said "The rape of a 13-year-old girl by an adult who should know better, and that does know better, is a crime. We will continue to seek justice in this case, and we will evaluate our options."
 
Breuer also stated that the U.S. government will review its options. However, Switzerland has said no appeal to its decision was possible. Polanski was arrested last September by Swiss police when he arrived in  to receive a lifetime career award at a film festival. The Swiss were acting on a request from the U.S. government.

The  based its decision on the fact that it was unable to determine whether Polanski had already served the full sentence for his crime. This was due to the  in May ruling that the records of the closed-door 1977 hearings had to remain secret. The Swiss Justice Ministry said U.S. officials should have backed up their request by providing confidential testimony about Polanski's 1977 sentencing procedure in Los Angeles. In past hearings, Polanski's lawyers argued that there were irregularities in the original handling of the case, and U.S. judge Peter Espinoza agreed there was misconduct by the original judge.