Manhattan District Attorney drops DSK rape charges

Prosecutors in New York City have recommended that a judge dismiss sexual assault charges against Dominique Strauss-Kahn, former head of the International Monetary Fund.  DSK was arrested on May 14, 2011, when he was dragged off an Air France flight just before it departed for Paris from John F. Kennedy International Airport. 

DSK was indicted by a grand jury on seven charges, including two counts of sexual assault, for offences that allegedly occurred during his stay at New York’s Sofitel Hotel. Allegedly, he had hidden himself naked in a bathroom  until a hotel-maid – Ms. Nafissatou Diallo – entered to clean the suite. The naked DSK then allegedly pursued her across the suite, grabbed her, prevented her from escaping, and violently sodomized her, before fleeing the hotel.

The District Attorney’s case apparently has disintegrated despite the fact that DSK’s semen was recovered from the suite and from the maid’s clothing. DSK eventually admitted to a sexual encounter with her, but claimed that it was consensual, despite the fact that he is an unattractive, overweight, desicated-looking  sexagenarian, while  the maid is a youthful-looking 32 years of age.

The case evidently has fallen apart because of an unfolding history of lies perpetrated  by the maid as part of her successful application for political asylum from Guinea several years earlier. No doubt this prior history would have moved center-stage in a trial, reducing the value of the maid’s testimony before a New York  jury. Understandably, the New york prosecutors now do not place a sufficiently high probability of success should they pursue the indictment through the criminal courts.

It is important to understand that dropping an indictment does not constitute DSK’s innocence in this matter. It simply reflects the limitations of a jury trial, together with the high burden of proof required in a criminal case. Readers will remember how O.J. Simpson evaded conviction in the infamous Los Angeles murder trial.

However O.J. Simpson eventually was brought to a form of justice through the civil courts, where the standard of proof is lower and where much better qualified private attorneys take over from under-performing state bureaucrats. Ms. Nafissatou Diallo must now rely on a civil suit against DSK to redeem her honor. Even if her suit fails she will savor the knowledge that her courageous allegations may have saved France from electing a depraved deviant into the Elysee Palace.

There are many ways in which criminals are penalized for their unlawful behavior. The criminal courts are not the only vehicles available to the victims of  those monsters who exploit  wealth and  power to debase  innocents whom they hold as unworthy even of their contempt.

“Mr. Vance has denied the right of a woman to get justice in a rape case.  He has not only turned his back on an innocent victim but he also turned his back on the forensic, medical and other evidence in this case.” Kenneth Thompson, Attorney-at-Law  representing Ms. Diallo, August 22, 2011

Tags: criminal indictment, DSK, IMF head, Manhattan District Attorney, Presidential candidate, sodomy, Sofitel Hotel