A French prosecutor opened a preliminary investigation into allegations of rape in a Washington hotel by former IMF chief and one-time French presidential hopeful Dominique Strauss-Kahn. Click below to read the rest of the story.
The move by the prosecutor in Lille in northern France followed a request by investigating judges earlier this month to broaden a suspected prostitution probe to examine the claims of rape in December 2010.
The prosecutor’s office said in a statement that they are looking into the allegation that Strauss-Kahn may have been involved in a rape during a sex party in the hotel while he was chief of the International Monetary Fund.
Strauss-Kahn has denied any violence and said he’s the subject of a public “lynching campaign.†The prominent economist, once a top contender for France’s presidency, has seen his career and reputation crumble since he was accused of sexual assault in a New York hotel a year ago.
Strauss-Kahn is already a target in the Lille prostitution probe, which has mushroomed over the past year into a nationwide scandal. He is facing preliminary charges of alleged aggravated pimping, based on accusations by other people questioned in the investigation.
He denies those charges. He has acknowledged being involved in “libertine†activity, while saying that he was unaware of anyone being paid for sex.
