Prosecutor to drop Strauss-Kahn case – New York Post

NEW YORK,  (Reuters) – Prosecutors will ask a judge  to dismiss all charges in the sexual assault case against  former IMF director Dominique Strauss-Kahn at a court hearing  on Tuesday, the New York Post reported today, citing  unnamed sources.
The Manhattan district attorney’s office will file a motion  recommending the case be dropped and laying out the chronology  of events that led to that point, according to the Post.
Strauss-Kahn, who has denied the allegations, was once seen  as a leading contender to be president of France until a maid,  Nafissatou Diallo, accused him of sexual assault on May 14 at  New York’s Sofitel Hotel. He was arrested and forced to resign  as head of the International Monetary Fund a few days later.
The case has teetered since late June when prosecutors  disclosed that Diallo, a 32-year-old Guinean immigrant, had  lied on her U.S. asylum application and about other aspects of  her past.
That revelation threatened her credibility as a witness and  led prosecutors to agree to release Strauss-Kahn, 62, from  house arrest, though he remains barred from leaving the  country. He faces up to 25 years in prison if convicted.
The Post reported that the prosecutors’ motion would detail  concerns about Diallo’s credibility and make it clear they do  not believe they can prove the charges beyond a reasonable  doubt.
Reuters could not immediately verify the report. Erin  Duggan, the spokeswoman for the district attorney’s office,  declined to comment, as did Chief Assistant District Attorney  Daniel Alonso, the office’s top deputy.
Douglas Wigdor, one of Diallo’s lawyers, said he could not  confirm the report.
“If the district attorney drops this important case, it  will be a major setback for all women who are victims of sexual  crimes and no doubt deter others from coming forward,” he said  in an email from Paris, where he plans to hold a press  conference Tuesday following the court hearing in New York.
Benjamin Brafman, Strauss-Kahn’s attorney, declined to  comment Sunday on the report.
Speculation that the charges would be dropped intensified  on Saturday, when Diallo’s lawyers said she had been summoned  for a meeting with prosecutors on Monday and suggested that it  could be a sign that prosecutors were preparing to dismiss.
Even if the charges are dismissed, Strauss-Kahn faces a  civil suit filed by Diallo two weeks ago and a complaint filed  in France by journalist and writer Tristane Banon, who has  alleged that he tried to rape her in 2002. Authorities in Paris  are considering whether to press charges in that case.