Former IMF leader Dominique Strauss-Kahn manages a short smile as he appears at his arraignment in a court room at Manhattan Criminal Court on June 6, 2011 in New York City. Strauss-Kahn entered a not-guilty plea on charges stemming from last month's incident where he allegedly sexually assaulted a hotel employee. UPI/Allan Tannenbaum/Pool |
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NEW YORK, July 28 (UPI) -- The lawyer for the New York hotel maid who accused Dominique Strauss-Kahn of sexually assaulting her said she had no intention of exploiting the situation.
Lawyer Kenneth Thompson said taped conversations between his client, Nafissatou Diallo, and another African immigrant prove she had no intention of trying to use the situation to her advantage and information presented to news outlets that she was seeking an advantage were misleading, The New York Times reported Thursday.
Thompson and Diallo spent Wednesday in the Manhattan district attorney's office, listening to the recordings. Law enforcement officials told Thompson and the Times in June Diallo could be heard saying "words to the effect of, 'Don't worry, this guy has a lot of money. I know what I'm doing.'"
Diallo accused Strauss-Kahn, the former head of the International Monetary Fund and a one-time contender in the French presidential election, of sexually assaulting her in a tony New York hotel suite in May. Earlier in July, a Manhattan judge released Strauss-Kahn on his own recognizance after District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. said his office had questions about Diallo's credibility.
After listening to the recordings, Thompson said during a news conference Wednesday Diallo's statements were mischaracterized. He said she never raised the issue of Strauss-Kahn's wealth or status as prosecutors described.
Thompson said his client described the sexual assault case during one of her earlier calls and her account was consistent with what she told investigators, the Times said.
The Manhattan district attorney's office said in a statement it would not comment on the evidence or any meetings because it was a pending criminal case.
Meanwhile, a sixth woman said she had an affair with Strauss-Kahn, the British newspaper The Daily Telegraph reported.
In an interview with a Swiss magazine, the woman identified as Marie-Victorine M. said the former IMF chief enjoyed "forceful lovemaking" during their nine-month liaison in Paris in 1997.
The legal consultant said Strauss-Kahn had a "huge sexual appetite" and was a "serial manipulator" of women, but she was a willing partner and he never forced her to have sex.
Strauss-Kahn also faces charges in Paris from French writer Tristane Banon, 32, who has accused Strauss-Kahn of trying to rape her in 2002.
