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Dominique Strauss-Kahn Freed Without Bail, Rape Charges Still Stand
By
Jen Chung
Published Jul 1, 2011
Modified Jul 1, 2011
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By
Jen Chung
Published Jul 1, 2011
Modified Jul 1, 2011
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Dominique Strauss-Kahn is no longer under house arrest. Prosecutors agreed that the former head of the IMF could be freed, as the Manhattan DA's office now questions the credibility of the hotel maid who accused him of attempting to rape her and forcing her to perform oral sex on him. However, the DA's office did not drop rape charges against the 68-year-old leading French politician. Assistant DA Joan Illuzzi-Orbon said, "The fact of a sexual encounter was and is corroborated by forensic evidence."
Last night, the NY Times reported that the prosecution's case was "on the verge of collapse," because the accuser, a 32-year-old Guinean immigrant, had ties to possible criminal activity and lied about her asylum application. Now the Times elaborates more on what the accuser said:
The housekeeper admitted to prosecutors that she lied about what happened after the episode on the 28th floor of the hotel. She had initially said that after being attacked, she had waited in a hallway until Mr. Strauss-Kahn left the room; she now admits that after the episode, she cleaned a nearby room, then returned to Mr. Strauss-Kahn’s suite to clean there. Only after that did she report to her supervisor that she had been attacked.
Prosecutors disclosed that the woman had admitted lying in her application for asylum from Guinea; according to the letter, she “fabricated the statement with the assistance of a male who provided her with a cassette recording” that she memorized. She also said that her claim that she had been the victim of a gang rape in Guinea was also a lie.
The woman also acknowledged that she had misrepresented her income to qualify for her housing, and had declared a friend’s child — in addition to her own daughter — as a dependent on tax returns to increase her tax refund.
You can read the Manhattan DA's office letter to Strauss-Kahn's lawyers. There is DNA evidence of a sexual encounter, but Strauss-Kahn's lawyers have said it was consensual (and he, himself, said he would be "exonerated".)
The accuser's lawyer, Kenneth Thompson, said, "It is obvious that this woman made some mistakes, but that doesn't mean she is not a rape victim... From day one, she has described a violent sexual assault that Dominique Strauss-Kahn committed against her. She has described that sexual assault many times, to prosecutors and to me, and she has never once changed a single thing about that encounter."
Strauss-Kahn had been under house arrest—on $1 million bail and $5 million bond—since late May and had been living in a $50,000/month townhouse in Tribeca after an Upper East Side building refused to rent to his family. While he authorized Strauss-Kahn's release, Judge Michael Obus said, "In the meantime, there will be no rush to judgement in this case. I expect the process will go on in a manner that is as fair as can be."
Tagged
accuser
credibility
dominique strauss-kahn
hotel maid
imf
manhattan da
sexual assault
Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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