Ex-IMF chief faces new sex probe
Source: Agencies |
March 28, 2012, Wednesday
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DOMINIQUE Strauss-Kahn was handed preliminary charges on Monday alleging he was involved in a hotel prostitution ring in France, a stunning blow on the home front for the former International Monetary Fund chief.
His lawyer said the married, 62-year-old Strauss-Kahn engaged in "libertine" acts but did nothing legally wrong. He's free on 100,000-euro (US$133,451) bail.
The onetime French presidential hopeful has seen his sexual behavior scrutinized in the international spotlight over the past year. The French charges come two days before a New York court takes up a civil case in which a hotel maid accuses Strauss-Kahn of sexually assaulting her.
Authorities in the French city of Lille are investigating what they believe was a prostitution ring involving prominent city figures and police - and Strauss-Kahn.
Investigating judges questioned the man known in France as DSK on Monday for about eight hours and gave him preliminary charges of "aggravated procurement in an organized gang," lawyer Richard Malka said. Under French law, preliminary charges mean authorities have reason to believe a crime was committed but allow more time for investigation.
Strauss-Kahn himself left in a black sedan without speaking publicly. He was released under judicial supervision after paying the bail, and was barred from contacting others charged in the case, a judicial official said. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the probe is still underway.
Prostitutes questioned in the case said they had sex with DSK during 2010 and 2011 at a luxury hotel in Paris, a restaurant in the French capital and also in Washington, DC, where he lived while working for the IMF, judicial officials say.
The case against DSK hinges on whether he knew he was partying with prostitutes, and whose money was used to pay them. Lawyers for the ex-IMF chief have acknowledged that he attended orgies.
"Mr Strauss-Kahn is finding himself, in large part because of his fame, thrown to the butchers," Malka said. "Colossal police and judicial means were deployed to crack and dissect his private life to an infinite degree, with the only goal being to invent and then castigate what can be considered a crime of lust."
He said it was inappropriate to use "simple libertine activity" to accuse Strauss-Kahn of procuring prostitutes or involvement in organized crime.
Two men with ties to DSK are behind bars in the probe, accused of paying the prostitutes: Fabrice Paszkowski, director of a medical supply firm in northern France, and David Roquet, a former director of a subsidiary of utility firm Eiffage.
French papers have dubbed the prostitution probe "The Carlton Affair" after the name of the costly Lille hotel.
His lawyer said the married, 62-year-old Strauss-Kahn engaged in "libertine" acts but did nothing legally wrong. He's free on 100,000-euro (US$133,451) bail.
The onetime French presidential hopeful has seen his sexual behavior scrutinized in the international spotlight over the past year. The French charges come two days before a New York court takes up a civil case in which a hotel maid accuses Strauss-Kahn of sexually assaulting her.
Authorities in the French city of Lille are investigating what they believe was a prostitution ring involving prominent city figures and police - and Strauss-Kahn.
Investigating judges questioned the man known in France as DSK on Monday for about eight hours and gave him preliminary charges of "aggravated procurement in an organized gang," lawyer Richard Malka said. Under French law, preliminary charges mean authorities have reason to believe a crime was committed but allow more time for investigation.
Strauss-Kahn himself left in a black sedan without speaking publicly. He was released under judicial supervision after paying the bail, and was barred from contacting others charged in the case, a judicial official said. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the probe is still underway.
Prostitutes questioned in the case said they had sex with DSK during 2010 and 2011 at a luxury hotel in Paris, a restaurant in the French capital and also in Washington, DC, where he lived while working for the IMF, judicial officials say.
The case against DSK hinges on whether he knew he was partying with prostitutes, and whose money was used to pay them. Lawyers for the ex-IMF chief have acknowledged that he attended orgies.
"Mr Strauss-Kahn is finding himself, in large part because of his fame, thrown to the butchers," Malka said. "Colossal police and judicial means were deployed to crack and dissect his private life to an infinite degree, with the only goal being to invent and then castigate what can be considered a crime of lust."
He said it was inappropriate to use "simple libertine activity" to accuse Strauss-Kahn of procuring prostitutes or involvement in organized crime.
Two men with ties to DSK are behind bars in the probe, accused of paying the prostitutes: Fabrice Paszkowski, director of a medical supply firm in northern France, and David Roquet, a former director of a subsidiary of utility firm Eiffage.
French papers have dubbed the prostitution probe "The Carlton Affair" after the name of the costly Lille hotel.
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