Los Angeles - Oscar-winning director Roman Polanski filed a formal request Tuesday to the Los Angeles County Superior Court to dismiss the 30-year-old child molestation charges against him.

Polanski was convicted of several sex crimes involving a 13-year- old girl in 1977 but fled the United States before sentencing.

His lawyers said that a recent documentary on the case had revealed that a pattern of misconduct between the court and prosecutors "had so distorted the legal process that the interests of justice can only be served with the complete dismissal of the case."

The case stemmed from a photo shoot in which Polanski took photos of the girl before allegedly driving her to actor Jack Nicholson's house, giving her champagne and a tranquilizer and allegedly having sex with her.

Polanski, a French citizen, was indicted by a grand jury on six counts, including rape, but reached a plea bargain in which he pleaded guilty to a lone count of having sex with a minor, punishable by six months to 50 years in prison. Fearing deportation or prison, Polanski fled to France, which does not extradite its citizens under any circumstances.

Polanski has still not returned to the United States - even when he won a best-director Oscar for The Pianist in 2003.