Gov't Asks Court to Drop All Charges in Alleged Ex-IMF Chief Sex Assault of Hotel Housekeeper
Prosecutors in Manhattan today filed papers asking that all charges be dropped against the former chief of the International Monetary Fund regarding his alleged sexual assault of a housekeeper at a hotel in New York.
While stopping short of asserting that Dominique Strauss-Kahn is innocent, the filing says his guilt cannot be proven, the City Room blog of the New York Times reports.
“The nature and number of the complainant’s falsehoods leave us unable to credit her version of events beyond a reasonable doubt, whatever the truth may be about the encounter between the complainant and the defendant,” states the filing by the Manhattan District Attorney’s office. “If we do not believe her beyond a reasonable doubt, we cannot ask a jury to do so.”
Kenneth Thompson, the attorney for Strauss-Kahn’s accuser, is asking that a special prosecutor be appointed in the case, contending that the DA’s office is refusing without good reason to pursue a May grand jury indictment of Strauss-Kahn on sexual abuse and attempted rape charges, CNN reports.
“Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance has denied the right of a woman to get justice in a rape case,” Thompson said in a written statement. “He has not only turned his back on this innocent victim, but he has also turned back on the forensic, medical and other evidence in this case.”
Vance’s office did not immediately respond to this claim, CNN says.
Earlier, Strauss-Kahn had pleaded not guilty and said, through his counsel, that any encounter was consensual. Today his lawyers, Benjamin Brafman and William W. Taylor III, said in a statement that their client is innocent and called his accuser “not credible.” The document also thanked the DA’s office for taking “our concerns seriously and conclud[ing] on its own that this case cannot proceed further.”
Meanwhile, the claimed victim, Nafissatou Diallo, has sued Strauss-Kahn civilly over the alleged Sofitel Hotel attack in a suite in which he was staying and Strauss-Kahn has sued her for defamation.
A status hearing is scheduled tomorrow in the criminal case.
Earlier coverage:
ABAJournal.com: “Strauss-Kahn Freed from House Arrest After Maid’s Credibility Questioned”
ABAJournal.com: “Strauss-Kahn Accuser Files Libel Suit Against NY Post over ‘Hooker’ Claim”
ABAJournal.com: “Lawyer for Strauss-Kahn Accuser Says She Didn’t Raise Money Issue in Recorded Prisoner Call”
