Report: DA to drop Strauss-Kahn charges

NEW YORK, Aug. 22 (UPI) -- New York prosecutors Monday filed papers seeking to dismiss the sexual-assault case against former International Monetary Fund head Dominique Strauss-Kahn.

The New York Times reported staff in the office of Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. filed what is called a dismissal on recommendation at 3:20 p.m. EDT Monday in Manhattan Supreme Court. A hearing before Manhattan State Supreme Court Justice Michael J. Obus is to be held Tuesday.

Strauss-Kahn's attorneys, William W. Taylor III and Benjamin Brafman, reiterated in a statement their client had maintained his innocence all along.

"We also maintained that there were many reasons to believe that Mr. Strauss-Kahn's accuser was not credible," they said. "Mr. Strauss-Kahn and his family are grateful that the district attorney's office took our concerns seriously and concluded on its own that this case cannot proceed further. We look forward to attending the hearing Tuesday."

The prosecutors' move brought a harsh rebuke from Kenneth Thompson, the attorney for the alleged victim, Nafissatou Diallo, the Times said. Thompson said Vance had denied his client, who stood next to him, a chance for justice.

"He has not only turned his back on this victim but he has also turned his back on the forensic, medical and other physical evidence in this case," Thompson said. "If the Manhattan district attorney, who is elected to protect our mothers, our daughters, our sisters, our wives and our loved ones, is not going to stand up for them when they're raped or sexually assaulted, who will?

A source had told the Times earlier that prosecutors did not believe the case could not be proved beyond a reasonable doubt.

If the judge follows the recommendation and dismisses the seven-count indictment, Strauss-Kahn -- led out of a police building in handcuffs in May and held under house arrest until his bail conditions were relaxed last month -- would be free to return to France.

Diallo was summoned to a meeting with prosecutors Monday.

Diallo alleged Strauss-Kahn, 62, attempted to rape her after she went to clean his New York hotel suite. The former IMF chief, who had been considered a potential candidate for president of France, has said the sexual encounter was consensual and her accusations were an attempt to extort money.

Dropping the charges would leave Diallo with no recourse to pursue criminal charges. She has filed a civil lawsuit seeking unspecified monetary damages from Strauss-Kahn for what the suit called a "violent and sadistic attack" that humiliated and degraded her.