Bill Cosby, Roman Polanski booted out of Academy

Director Roman Polanski and comedian Bill Cosby have been expelled from the membership of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

The Board of Governors of AMPS met on May 1 and voted to expel Cosby and Polanski in accordance with their Standards of Conduct, according to a release.

"The Board continues to encourage ethical standards that require members to uphold the Academy's values of respect for human dignity," the Academy said in a statement.

Both Cosby and Polanski have faced sexual harassment and rape charges for years.

Cosby, 80, was recently found guilty of three charges of aggravated sexual assault in a retrial brought against him by Andrea Constand.

Polanski has admitted to having sex with a 13-year-old girl after plying her with champagne and pills in 1978 at actor Jack Nicholson's house.

He fled the US to avoid jail and continues to be a fugitive in the country though he won a best director's Oscar for his Holocaust film "The Pianist" in 2003. Someone else accepted the award on his behalf.