French Prosecutors Drop Strauss-Kahn Rape Case

Former International Monetary Fund (IMF) director Dominique Strauss-Kahn arrives by car for questioning at the Gendarmerie in Lille, Northern France, 21 February 2012. Photo by BGNES

French prosecutors dropped Tuesday the alleged rape case against former International Monetary Fund chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn.

He was charged with participating in the gang rape of a prostitute in a Washington hotel.

According to a statement of the Lille Prosecutor's Office, as cited by the BBC News, the young Belgian woman whose testimony prompted the preliminary investigation has retracted her evidence.

The supposed victim who had made the allegations in the Washington case now says that the sex acts between herself and Strauss-Kahn were consensual, meaning that the inquiry has no grounds to continue.

The former IMF chief remains under investigation over allegations that he participated in a prostitution ring run out of the luxury Carlton hotel in Lille.

In May 2011, Strauss-Kahn was arrested in New York on accusations that he sexually assaulted a housekeeper in a Manhattan hotel.

The criminal case collapsed when prosecutors there discovered that his accuser, Nafissatou Diallo, had lied concerning other subjects.

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