Former IMF boss freed after doubt cast on aspects of alleged victim's account, while her lawyer gives graphic description
In extraordinary scenes outside a Manhattan courtroom, the lawyer for Dominique Strauss-Kahn's alleged victim promised the maid would take her cause to the press amid fears that prosecutors may be preparing to drop the case.
Strauss-Kahn, the former head of the International Monetary Fund, was freed from house arrest and had his bail dropped as it emerged that investigators had discovered that his accuser, a 32-year-old Guinean-born maid, had lied about a previous rape claim.
They also uncovered evidence that appeared to cast doubt on key elements of her account, and seemed likely to do deep damage to her credibility as a witness.
But her lawyer, Kenneth Thompson, repeated her account, including highly graphic details of the alleged sex attack, and said she now wanted to speak out in front of the press. He said there were photographs of the victim's "bruised vagina" and medical evidence of other injuries, and evidence of semen that the victim had spat out into the room. "He grabbed her vagina with so much force he hurt her," he said. "She is going to tell you what Dominique Strauss-Kahn did to her," Thompson said. "The victim will stand before you." He went on to say that her story held up, despite astonishing revelations that she had lied to prosecutors about a whole series of events, including her movements after the alleged attack and her links to a possible drug dealer, as well as apparent evidence that she was seeking financial gain.
"The only defence that Dominique Strauss-Kahn has is that this sexual encounter was consensual. That is a lie," Thompson said.
But the developments represented a huge boost to Strauss-Kahn. In court with his wife, Anne Sinclair, he thanked judge Michael Obus as his previously strict bail conditions were lifted, in effect removing him from house arrest.
Though the court did not give him back his passport, Strauss-Kahn is free to travel around the US without bail conditions. In a brief court hearing, prosecutors filed papers detailing some of the new findings. Strauss-Kahn then walked out of the court and into a waiting car.
Strauss-Kahn's arrest for attempted rape on 14 May led to him losing his job at the IMF and his position as a leading possible presidential contender for the Socialist party in France.
He was confined under effective house arrest in Manhattan and the episode prompted a bout of soul-searching in France as other people came forward with salacious and disturbing details of Strauss-Kahn's apparently prolific womanising.
Legal experts believe the developments will now see the charges reduced to a misdemeanour, while the defence team push for them to be dropped altogether. "The next step will be a complete dismissal," said Benjamin Brafman, Strauss-Kahn's lawyer.
The discoveries reflected a sudden lack of confidence that prosecutors would be able to convince a court about what the hotel maid said happened between herself and Strauss-Kahn in his room at the Sofitel.
After she alleged that he sexually assaulted her, New York authorities swept into action, arresting Strauss-Kahn as he waited to take off on a flight to Europe.
But now the court battle may not happen at all. Prosecuting lawyers have concluded that the maid has lied repeatedly in their dealings with her.
A letter filed with the court detailed how prosecutors believe she lied over claims she was gang raped when she submitted a claim for political asylum in the US. The letter said she had admitted to them the claims were not true.
The letter also said she did not tell the truth about her behaviour following the alleged assault by Strauss-Kahn. Initially, she told investigators she had hidden after the attack until she saw her alleged attacker leave and then reported the assault to a supervisor.
But the letter said that was not true and in fact she cleaned a nearby room and then also cleaned the room in which the alleged attack took place.
The New York Times has also reported that police tape-recorded a telephone conversation between the woman and a man in prison on the day of the alleged rape in which she talked about the possible financial benefits that could come to her as a result of pursuing charges.
The investigation also found deposits made into her bank account totalling $100,000 (�60,000) over the last two years, some of which came from the man, a convicted drug dealer.
James Cox, law professor at Duke University, said: "This has got to be the prosecution's worse nightmare. You do what you think is right and then your witness goes south on you." He said the prosecution was right to act decisively and quickly on the case when the charges were brought and could not be blamed for the media furore that followed.
"You cannot have a chambermaid bringing allegations against an aristocrat like Strauss-Kahn without there being this kind of frenzy," Cox said. But given subsequent developments he was surprised that the prosecution had not done more homework on their witness before making such strong statements about the case and the strength of its witness.
Others said the developments did not mean Strauss-Kahn would avoid all charges. Professor John Coffee of Columbia Law School said: "This does not exonerate him."
Strauss-Kahn had been expected to run for the French presidency after stepping down from his post as managing director of the IMF, one of the most important roles in world finance. But after his arrest he was forced to resign from the IMF. The job has just been filled by the French finance minister, Christine Lagarde.
These new developments could leave the way open for him to return to French domestic politics, with France's former Socialist prime minister Lionel Jospin describing the news as a "thunderbolt".
The handling of the Strauss-Kahn case is likely to lead to criticism of New York prosecutors and questions over their handling of the case, especially the now notorious "perp walk", which saw Strauss-Kahn paraded in front of press cameras.
Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/jul/01/dominique-strauss-kahn-court
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