Maid denies ‘consensual sex’ with IMF chief

The woman who says she was sexually assaulted by Dominique Strauss-Kahn will strongly deny to jurors any assertions that she willingly had sex with the IMF chief, her attorney said Wednesday.

‘I think that when the jury hears her testimony and sees her in person, and finally she can come public with this and tell her story.

‘I think that (they will find) their claims of consensual sex or encounters are not true,” attorney Jeff Shapiro told NBC television.

“There is nothing consensual about what took place in that hotel room,” he said.

Strauss-Kahn’s lawyers, who have promised a “vigorous” defense, suggested at a bail hearing on Monday that he may have had a consensual sexual encounter with the alleged victim.

Lawyer Ben Brafman said in court that the evidence “will not be consistent with a forcible encounter.” Prosecutors, however, say they have physical evidence indicating attempted rape, including a doctor’s exam made immediately after the incident.

A grand jury is due to convene this week to decide whether there is enough evidence in the accusations to proceed to trial.

Such proceedings are secret, and the Manhattan District Attorney’s office would not comment on progress.

The 32-year-old woman has not been identified, and has not spoken publicly about the alleged incident, but Shapiro told NBC that she is ready to fully cooperate with prosecutors in building the court case against Strauss-Kahn.

AFP