French prosecutors drop Strauss-Kahn rape probe

LILLE, France – French prosecutors Tuesday, October 2, dropped a probe into whether former IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn took part in a gang rape in the United States, but kept open another one into alleged pimping.

Strauss-Kahn had denied any criminal wrongdoing in the incidents investigated, which involved evenings with prostitutes and took place in Washington in late 2010 while he was still International Monetary Fund boss.

The Belgian woman who was supposed to have been the victim of the alleged rape wrote to French police in August to say she had consented to sex acts and was not pressing any charges, said the prosecutor’s office in Lille.

It added in a statement that as there was no offence committed, a preliminary investigation that had been opened was now being shelved.

Strauss-Kahn, two businessmen and a police chief were charged in March with “aggravated pimping in an organised gang” for allegedly organising a prostitution ring for orgies in France, the United States and elsewhere.

That investigation is ongoing.

His lawyer Henri Leclerc said Strauss-Kahn would be cleared in that probe as well, saying: “There is no hint he was involved in pimping. You will see that emerge although right now this is fuelling scandal.”

The Socialist politician’s career collapsed spectacularly after his arrest last year on accusations he sexually assaulted a New York hotel maid.

The charges were eventually dropped but Strauss-Kahn, who was once considered a favourite for the French presidency, has since faced a series of criminal and civil actions in connection with alleged sex crimes.

The hotel maid, Nafissatou Diallo, has launched a civil suit against him in New York seeking unspecified damages, while he has in turn filed a countersuit for malicious prosecution and defamation. – Agence France-Presse