Dominique Strauss-Kahn faces new allegations of gang rape
Strauss-Kahn is seen here arriving at a polling station for the Socialist party’s (PS) 2011 primary vote for the 2012 French presidential election on October 9, 2011. Investigators are seeking to discover if prostitutes were paid using corporate funds from a large French construction company, according to the Associated Press.
Dominique Strauss-Kahn is facing new allegations that he took part in the gang rape of a prostitute in Washington DC.
French magistrates a prostitution ring in which Strauss-Kahn was allegedly involved have asked prosecutors to look into the rape claims, Reuters reported.
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According to French newspaper Libération, the move is based on testimony by a Belgian sex worker, who told police she was paid to attend a party at a Washington hotel in December 2010 at which Strauss-Kahn and two of his associates allegedly subjected her to a violent sexual assault despite her repeated calls for them to stop.
A fellow prostitute who was also present backed up part of her account, though said she did not remember hearing the woman say no, according to Libération's excerpts from their statements.
The woman did not press charges over the alleged assault.
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Strauss-Kahn has denied that any of his encounters at the sex parties he attended were forced. He also denies knowing that the women he met there were prostitutes.
US prosecutors charges of rape against Strauss-Kahn after deciding that his accuser, a New York hotel maid, was an unreliable witness.
According to the BBC, neither Strauss-Kahn nor his lawyers have commented on the latest allegations.
Prosecutors must now decide whether to widen the current investigation to include the accusation of rape, France Info radio explained. They will examine the evidence and decide whether there are sufficient grounds to open a preliminary investigation.
A decision is expected next week.
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