Strauss-Kahn welcomes end of sex case “nightmare”
A judge in New York dismisses all sexual assault charges against Dominique Strauss-Kahn, accepting the recommendation of prosecutors who cast doubt on the accuser’s credibility.
New York State Supreme Court Justice Michael Obus dismissed all criminal sexual assault charges against the former IMF chief, formally ending the criminal case against him.
In a statement, Strauss-Kahn welcomed the end of a “nightmare.”
“These past two and a half months have been a nightmare for me and my family. I want to thank all the friends in France and in the United States who have believed in my innocence.”
“We are obviously gratified that the District Attorney agreed with my lawyers that this case had to be dismissed. We appreciate his professionalism and that of the people who were involved in that decision,” it continued.
It comes after The Manhattan district attorney’s office filed a court document Monday that described lies and inconsistencies that they said shattered the maid’s credibility. They said they cannot proceed with the case.
The prosecutors concluded in a 25-page filing that: “If we do not believe her beyond a reasonable doubt, we cannot ask a jury to do so.”
Following the district attorney’s recommendation, lawyers for 32-year-old Nafissatou Diallo filed a request Monday reiterating the need for a special prosecutor and argued the office was biased.
But that request was rejected by a judge just one hour before Strauss-Kahn was allowed to walk away from court free of criminal liability.
Civil suit
But he is still facing a civil suit against him filed on 8 August.
Diallo accuses Strauss-Kahn of sexually assaulting her in a “violent sadistic attack” at the Sofitel hotel on 14 May.
The suit, filed in state Supreme Court in the Bronx, claims that a naked Strauss-Kahn emerged from the bathroom of his luxury suite and forced Diallo to perform oral sex on him.
Timeline: The rise and fall of the DSK sex case
May 14: Strauss-Kahn arrested in JFK Airport in New York after boarding a plane en route to France
May 16: He is denied bail and detained at the Rikers Island Prison
May 18: Strauss-Kahn resigns as head of the IMF
May 20: Bail conditions eased to house arrest
June 06: Pleads not guilty to charges of a criminal sexual act, attempted rape, sexual abuse, unlawful imprisonment and forcible touching.
July 1: Released from house arrest after prosecutors say Diallo lied about her past and about what she did immediately after the incident,
July 5: Tristane Banon, a French journalist, files a complaint in France alleging Strauss-Kahn tried to force himself on her in 2002
Aug. 8: Diallo files a civil lawsuit against Strauss-Kahn in the Bronx, where she lives, seeking unspecified damages.
The complaint, which does not specify the amount of damages Diallo is seeking, claims the alleged assault left “Ms Diallo’s life and her young daughter’s life in shambles.”
Strauss-Kahn has not yet responded to the allegations.
He also faces a separate inquiry in France from a writer who alleged Strauss-Kahn forced himself on her during a 2003 interview in Paris.
Q and A: The Strauss-Kahn scandal
