Strauss-Kahn assault case ‘near collapse’
The sexual assault case against former International Monetary Fund chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn is on the verge of collapse, according to reports in New York.
Mr Strauss-Kahn, 62, who had been seen as a leading candidate for the French presidency before he was arrested on 14 May, may now be released and freed from house arrest as soon as Friday, the New York Times said.
The report, based on interviews with two unnamed law enforcement officials, casts doubt on the credibility of the maid who accuses Strauss-Kahn of sexually assaulting her in his Manhattan hotel suite.
The New York Times sources say “major holes” in the case will be revealed by state prosecutors in court on Friday, leading to the possible easing of bail conditions and maybe even the collapse of the case altogether.
According to the newspaper’s “well-placed sources”, prosecutors have already met Mr Strauss-Kahn’s lawyers, and the parties discussed whether to dismiss the charges.
Although the sexual nature of the encounter between the French politician and the maid has been revealed by forensic tests, the New York Times report suggests that police and prosecuting lawyers believe the 32-year-old woman has lied repeatedly.
Among the claims by the officials, are issues involving the asylum application of the maid, and possible links to people involved in criminal activities, including drug dealing and money laundering.
Read more: Strauss Khan claims 'attack' on maid was consensual.
One of the sources also alleges that investigators have a taped recording of the woman talking to a man about the financial benefits of pursuing charges against Mr Strauss-Kahn.
In recent weeks, Mr. Strauss-Kahn’s lawyers, Benjamin Brafman and William W Taylor III, have made it clear that they would make the credibility of the woman a focus of their case.
In the weeks after making her accusations, the woman, who arrived in the United States from Guinea in 2002, was described by relatives and colleagues as a hard-working mother with good character and no criminal record.
The woman told the authorities that she had gone to Mr. Strauss-Kahn’s suite to clean it and that he emerged naked from the bathroom and attacked her. The formal charges accused him of ripping her underwear, trying to rape her and forcing her to perform oral sex; his lawyers say that any sex was consensual.
The father-of-four spent four days in New York’s Rikers Island jail before he was released on $1 million bail and placed under house arrest.
Mr Strauss-Khan denies charges of a criminal sexual act, attempted rape, sexual abuse, unlawful imprisonment, and forcible touching. He faces upto 25 years in prison if convicted.
The case was not scheduled to return to court until July 18.