NEW YORK - Dominique Strauss-Kahn arrived at a Manhattan courthouse in a six-car motorcade Tuesday in hopes that a judge would agree to dismiss the sexual assault case brought against him by a hotel housekeeper.
Just minutes earlier, the judge had dismissed a request for a special prosecutor, paving the way for the case to be dropped.
Prosecutors had filed court papers Monday requesting dismissal, saying they could not ask a jury to believe the hotel maid's story when they do not find her to be a credible witness.
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Protesters wielded signs outside the courthouse carrying such messages as "DSK treats women like property" and "Put the rapist on trial - not the victim." Even inside the courtroom, shouting could be heard.
The maid claimed Strauss-Kahn attacked her and sexually assaulted her in his luxury suite May 14. Prosecutors argued DNA evidence they said showed sexual contact but not necessarily a forced encounter and discussed why they saw medical findings as inconclusive.
Judge Michael Obus issued a written ruling Tuesday, shortly before he was expected to dismiss the charges brought against the French diplomat.
"The court concludes that nothing called to its attention establishes disqualification or warrants removal of the elected district attorney of this county," Obus wrote.
The request was initially filed a month ago by the attorney for 33-year-old Nafissatou Diallo, arguing the office was biased, after prosecutors came forward with concerns about her credibility. Her attorney reiterated the request in a court document Monday.
That same day, the Manhattan district attorney's office filed a court document that described lies and inconsistencies that they said shattered the maid's credibility. They said they could not proceed with the case and would recommend all charges be dismissed.
The maid, from the West African nation of Guinea, claimed that Strauss-Kahn attacked her and sexually assaulted her in his luxury suite on May 14. Strauss-Kahn was hauled off an international flight and charged with attempted rape and other crimes.
She is also suing Strauss-Kahn in civil court.
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The Associated Press does not usually name people who say they are victims of sexual assault unless they come forward publicly, as she has done.
The case captured international attention as a cauldron of sex, violence, power and politics: A promising French presidential contender, known in his homeland as the Great Seducer, accused of a brutal and contemptuous attack on an immigrant who had come to clean his plush suite.
Source: http://feeds.cbsnews.com/~r/CBSNewsMain/~3/KeQqm8hno3s/main20095979.shtml
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