PROSECUTORS WILL ask a judge to dismiss all charges in the sexual assault case against former International Monetary Fund director Dominique Strauss-Kahn at a court hearing on Tuesday, the New York Postreported yesterday, citing unnamed sources.
The Manhattan district attorney's office will file a motion recommending the case be dropped and laying out the chronology of events that led to that point, according to the Post.
Mr Strauss-Kahn, who has denied the allegations, was once seen as a leading contender to be president of France until a maid, Nafissatou Diallo, accused him of sexual assault on May 14th at New York’s Sofitel Hotel. He was arrested and forced to resign as head of the fund a few days later.
The case has teetered since late June when prosecutors disclosed Ms Diallo (32), a Guinean immigrant, had lied on her US asylum application and about other aspects of her past. This threatened her credibility and led prosecutors to agree to release Mr Strauss-Kahn (62), from house arrest, though he still cannot leave the country. He would face up to 25 years in prison if convicted.
The Post reported the prosecutors’ motion would detail concerns about Ms Diallo’s credibility and make it clear they do not believe they can prove the charges beyond a reasonable doubt. A spokeswoman for the district attorney’s office declined to comment, as did chief assistant district attorney Daniel Alonso.
Douglas Wigdor, one of Ms Diallo’s lawyers, said he could not confirm the report. “If the district attorney drops this important case, it will be a major setback for all women who are victims of sexual crimes and no doubt deter others from coming forward,” he said in an e-mail from Paris, where he plans to hold a press conference on Tuesday following the court hearing in New York.
Benjamin Brafman, Mr Strauss-Kahn’s attorney, declined to comment yesterday on the report.
If the charges are dismissed, Mr Strauss-Kahn will still face a civil suit filed by Ms Diallo two weeks ago and a complaint filed in France by writer Tristane Banon, who alleged he tried to rape her in 2002. – (Reuters)