LA Times: Strauss-Kahn, 64, a former Paris finance minister, has admitted through his lawyers attending “libertine” parties at hotels in France and in Washington, where the International Monetary Fund is based, in 2010 and 2011.
However, he has always insisted he did not know that some of the women present were prostitutes and denies the pimping charge.
After the investigation into what has been dubbed the Carlton Affair was launched in October 2011, Strauss-Kahn's lawyer, Henri Leclerc, told French television it was reasonable to assume his client did not know that a number of women at the parties were being paid for sex.
“As you can imagine, at these kinds of parties you're not always dressed, and I challenge you to distinguish a naked prostitute from any other naked woman,” Leclerc said.
Strauss-Kahn, a former presidential hopeful, has been pursued by claims of sexual offenses since his arrest by New York police in May 2011, following accusations that he tried to rape hotel maid Nafissatou Diallo.
The criminal charges were eventually dropped after doubts emerged about the maid's credibility. But Strauss-Kahn, who insisted Diallo had consented to oral sex, was forced to pay her substantial damages, reportedly in the region of $6 million.
The French state prosecutor had recommended dropping the Carlton Affair charges against Strauss-Kahn on grounds of a lack of evidence. The French magistrates overseeing the investigation rejected the recommendation and maintained a charge of “aggravated pimping as part of a group.” In France, the offense of “pimping” covers a wide range of crimes includes aiding or encouraging prostitution.
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