Strauss-Kahn Charges Dropped

Prosecutors say they don't believe accuser beyond reasonable doubt
By Kevin Spak,  Newser Staff
Posted Aug 23, 2011 11:24 AM CDT
Dominique Strauss-Kahn Charges Dropped
Dominique Strauss-Kahn, center, is surrounded by private security as he arrives for a hearing at Manhattan state Supreme court with his wife Anne Sinclair, Aug. 23, 2011.   (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)

A New York judge dropped all charges against Dominique Strauss-Kahn today, officially closing the criminal case, CNBC reports. The dismissal came at the District Attorney’s office’s request, after prosecutors said they had lost faith in alleged victim Nafissatou Diallo, whose testimony had changed repeatedly. “If we do not believe her beyond a reasonable doubt, we cannot ask a jury to do so,” they wrote in a court filing.

Diallo’s lawyer had asked the judge to appoint a special prosecutor to continue with the criminal case, but the judge shot them down, writing, “The application is denied in all respects.” Strauss-Kahn’s legal troubles aren’t entirely over however—Diallo has filed a civil suit against him, and there’s an investigation going on in France over allegations that he forced himself on a reporter during a 2003 interview. (More Dominique Strauss Kahn stories.)

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