Former International Monetary Fund chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn is on trial in Lille, France accused of aggravated pimping.
Once considered as a leading candidate for the French presidency, Dominique Strauss-Kahn has suffered a fall from grace due to trials for sex offenses on two different continents, as well as a failed business venture which ended in bankruptcy. At the trial the two sides have been examining the story of a prostitute who accuses Strauss-Kahn of forcing her to perform sex acts on him, write Hugo Miller and Gaspar Sebag of Bloomberg – also see DealBreaker for a good take on the matter.
Orgies at the Carlton Hotel
Her story is part of the trial in which ex-IMF head Strauss-Kahn and 13 other defendants are accused of hiring prostitutes for orgies. The story is known as the “Carlton Affair” for the name of the hotel where some of the sex parties were hosted. Strauss-Kahn maintains that he was not aware that Sandrine Vandenschrik was a prostitute.
Vandenschrik testified that Strauss-Kahn forced her to perform particular sex acts on him without her permission. That seemingly did not deter her from flying out to Washington to meet Strauss-Kahn in his office.
However Strauss-Kahn said in his defense: “The managing director of the IMF doesn’t take a photo in his Washington office with a young lady he knows to be a prostitute. I wouldn’t have taken that risk.”
Strauss-Kahn was quizzed on his sexual preferences, eventually admitting that he might be “rougher” than the average man, before growing exasperated with the line of questioning, calling it “completely absurd.”
Strauss-Kahn speaks out
The disgraced politician claims that he could not have known that Vandenschrik wouldn’t consent, and claimed that the atmosphere remained “friendly” afterwards.
The pair met at a swingers club in Belgium before having sex in a hotel. Strauss-Kahn claims that he was unaware that she was a prostitute and no money changed hands. The judge asked Strauss-Kahn if her job as an exotic dancer didn’t raise his suspicions that she might be paid for sex.
Specifically, he said the following:
Strauss-Kahn pimping trial quote “I dare you to distinguish between a prostitute and a naked socialite.” http://t.co/T09AukkZ4w #DSK
— Meena Thiruvengadam (@Meena_Thiru) February 11, 2015
Vandenschrik later agreed to visit Strauss-Kahn in Washington, where a smiling photo of the pair was taken. She was offered 2,000 euros by two other defendants, Fabrice Paszkowski and David Roquet, to make the trip. Vandenschrik claims that it was obvious that she was a prostitute, but the two men claim to have hidden the payment from Strauss-Kahn. The defendant himself maintains that he had no knowledge of any payment to Vandenschrik.
Fur
