New York v. Strauss-Kahn

The People of the State of New York v. Strauss-Kahn was a criminal case relating to allegations of sexual assault and attempted rape made by a hotel maid, Nafissatou Diallo. The charges were dismissed at the request of the prosecution, which cited Diallo’s lack of truthfulness and inconclusive physical evidence. At the time of the alleged attack, Strauss-kahn was the head of the International Monetary Fund and considered to be a leading candidate in the 2012 French presidential election.

About New York v. Strauss-Kahn in brief

Summary New York v. Strauss-KahnThe People of the State of New York v. Strauss-Kahn was a criminal case relating to allegations of sexual assault and attempted rape made by a hotel maid, Nafissatou Diallo. The charges were dismissed at the request of the prosecution, which cited Diallo’s lack of truthfulness and inconclusive physical evidence. The suit was later settled for an undisclosed amount, subsequently reported to have been USD 1. 5 million. At the time of the alleged attack, Strauss-kahn was the head of the International Monetary Fund and considered to be a leading candidate in the 2012 French presidential election. The U.S. State Department determined that Strauss Kahn’s diplomatic immunity did not apply to the case. Four days after his arrest, he voluntarily resigned his post at the IMF. The case against him was near collapse. On 23 August 2011, the judge formally dismissed all charges following a recommendation for dismissal filed by the District Attorney’s office, which asserted that the complainant’s untruthfulness made it impossible to credit her. In a television interview in September he admitted that his liaison with Diallo was a moral fault and described it as \”inappropriate\” but that it did not involve violence, constraint or aggression. He said that Diallo had lied and that he had no intention of negotiating with her over a civil suit she had filed against him. After posting USD 1 million bail and pleading not guilty he was placed under house arrest. He was arraigned on June 6 and pleaded not guilty and posted an additional bail bond of $1 million.

On May 24, it was reported that DNA tests of the semen found on Diallo’s shirt had shown a match with the DNA sample from Strauss- kahn. The prosecution stated that the housekeeper, Diallo, an immigrant asylee from the West African state of Guinea, had provided a detailed account of an alleged assault, and that DNA evidence recovered at the site was being tested. The judge denied his bail request stating that the fact that Strauss- Kahn was apprehended on a departing airplane “rais some concerns’”. On 19 May, Strauss Kahn was indicted by a Manhattan grand jury on seven criminal counts, two of which were first-degree criminal sexual acts, each punishable by a sentence of up to 25 years in prison. Strauss Kahn hired New York lawyer Benjamin Brafman to represent him. He hired a Paris lawyer to look for women in France who may have been victimized by Strauss-Bahn. He reportedly sought public relations advice from a Washington-based consulting firm. His defense team hired a private detective agency to investigate the housekeeping’s past. The housekeeper’s lawyer, Kenneth Thompson, said: “In our judgment, once the evidence has been reviewed, it will be clear that there was no element of forcible compulsion in this case whatsoever. Any suggestion to the contrary is simply not credible.” He was accused of four felony charges—two of criminal sex acts, one of attempted rape and one of sexual abuse—plus three misdemeanor offences, including unlawful imprisonment.