Strauss-Kahn case close to collapse
The hotel maid accusing Dominique Strauss-Kahn of sexual assault has had her request for a special prosecutor rejected after the district attorney’s office recommended all charges should be dropped.
Judge Michael Obus issued a written ruling less than an hour before the former leader of the International Monetary Fund was due in court for a hearing where the charges against him would likely be dismissed.
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: “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.
Legal experts say it would be extremely unlikely for the judge to reject the request for dismissal, although he does have the power to keep the case alive.
If the case does collapse, Strauss-Kahn – once a leading contender to be the next president of France – will be allowed to return home free of criminal liability.
Civil suit
However, 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.
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.