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THE PARIS PROSECUTOR’S office says it has opened a preliminary investigation into accusations by a French writer that former IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn tried to rape her.
Novelist and journalist Tristane Banon has filed a criminal complaint saying that Strauss-Kahn attacked her in an empty apartment in 2003 during an interview for a book project, struggling with her on the floor as he tried to tear off her clothes.
An official in the Paris prosecutor’s office said this morning that a preliminary investigation has been opened into the complaint.
The probe allows investigators from a special police brigade to question Banon and those close to her about the eight-year-old incident.
It could also allow French investigators to question Strauss-Kahn, though most likely not unless and until he returns to France.
The probe comes just as New York prosecutors are weighing whether or not to go ahead with a case in which a chambermaid accused Strauss-Kahn — long considered a top contender for France’s presidency — of sexual assault.
Questions have surfaced about the maid’s credibility, throwing the high-profile case into disarray.
Strauss-Kahn quit as head of the International Monetary Fund after he was arrested in New York in May based on accusations of assault made by a hotel maid.
Strauss-Kahn denies wrongdoing, and last week, he was released without bail after prosecutors said publicly that the maid has a history of lying.
Questions have also surfaced about the viability of the French accusation against Strauss-Kahn.
Banon made no official report of being victimised after the alleged attack, and Banon’s lawyer has not described any physical evidence that could be brought against Strauss-Kahn.
Banon has acknowledged the difficulty of proving her case, saying she took action to deal with the trauma of the alleged incident and to refute those who say she’s been lying.
She said in an interview with the magazine L’Express that Strauss-Kahn grabbed her hand and arm before the two fell to the floor of his apartment and fought for several minutes, with the politician trying to open her jeans and bra and putting his fingers in her mouth and underwear.
Strauss-Kahn’s lawyers have called the incident “imaginary” and threatened to file a criminal complaint accusing Banon of slander.
After the preliminary probe into her claim, which could take weeks or months, the Paris prosecutor’s office could decide to drop the case or pursue the investigation, which could eventually lead to a trial.
The probe will help prosecutors determine whether her allegations support a charge of attempted rape, rather than the less serious crime of sexual assault.
Under French law, sexual assault is an attack that does not involve an attempt to penetrate the victim. It has a three-year statute of limitations — meaning the 2003 incident would be to old to prosecute — compared with a ten-year limitation for attempted rape.
AP; additional reporting by Gavan Reilly
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If men were having the babies this would never happen. Disgraceful treatment of women in such a dangerous medical condition.
@2thFairy: Ah FFS, what a ridiculous thing to say. The article is about men not being allowed into the labour ward for enough time so the woman stayed in the car…with her partner…for support. Snide comments about men is not the solution here.
Why are we not demonstrating about the absolute state of our health system?
Stephen Donnelly doing his best ? Who’s running the country the government or the maternity hospitals. Sanction the hospitals if they don’t comply remove funding.
@Nan: She chose to stay in the car park? Whats the fuss?
@Nan: Well, we have a Minister for Health, then we have a Junior Minister for Health, then there is a Director General of the HSE, then a CEO of the HSE, then CEOs of the various hospital groups. Then there be deputies of the top positions. Might have missed a few. All these people paid a yearly EuroMillions lotto win and still the HSE is a joke shop.
If he didn’t pick up the phone and call the hospital today and get an answer to why this happened and if the hospital is not in compliance with the guidelines and he didn’t sack the person responsible before he hung up the phone, then he’s not fit to be in charge of the health service of this country.
@BK: Cause that how the world works
An absolute disgrace. Shame on this country. Women’s health is and has always been well down the list of priorities.
Always excuses. Nothing meaningful really happens.
My son and his wife had a baby boy on 4th October in Holles Street hospital and he was allowed in for the labour, birth and each and every day whilst Mum and baby were in patients. They came home on 9th and were so happy that they could stay with their baby till he was allowed out.. They found the hospital staff very accommodating and helpful…
The government caused it. Why can’t they fix it!
The Coombe, where she took her baby inside to a breakfast of cold toast and tea. The entire hospital needs to be shut down.
From what I gather the article says the lady was in the end stages of labour.. therefore she would’ve been admitted to the labour ward and her partner could’ve accompanied her as per the hospital’s guidelines??
have your say