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| Dominique Strauss-Kahn Says He Didn’t Engage in ‘Unbridled’ Behavior | |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| LILLE, France — Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the former head of the International Monetary Fund who is accused of participating in a global sex ring, said on Tuesday that he had committed no crime and had not engaged in any “unbridled” behavior. | |
| His comments came at the beginning of testimony that was expected to hinge on a novel defense: that lust is no crime. | |
| In a trial that has drawn international news media interest, Mr. Strauss-Kahn, a former finance minister once seen as a leading contender for the French presidency, stands accused with 13 other defendants of pimping and of aiding and abetting the prostitution of seven women. | In a trial that has drawn international news media interest, Mr. Strauss-Kahn, a former finance minister once seen as a leading contender for the French presidency, stands accused with 13 other defendants of pimping and of aiding and abetting the prostitution of seven women. |
| Prosecutors say he used subordinates to obtain prostitutes for lavish sex parties in Lille, Paris, Washington and elsewhere from March 2008 to October 2011. | |
| The case has titillated France, exposing an international circuit of exclusive orgies called “parties fines” where Champagne flowed freely and the attendees included judges, lawyers, journalists and police officials. But it is also fueling debate here about the lines between public and private morality, while challenging a culture where powerful men have often indulged with impunity. | The case has titillated France, exposing an international circuit of exclusive orgies called “parties fines” where Champagne flowed freely and the attendees included judges, lawyers, journalists and police officials. But it is also fueling debate here about the lines between public and private morality, while challenging a culture where powerful men have often indulged with impunity. |
| In France, a country where sex with prostitutes is not illegal, but soliciting and pimping are, the trial has also generated questions about whether the laws against prostitution need updating. Some argue that the country should adopt Sweden’s practice of criminalizing the clients of prostitution rather than the prostitutes themselves, some of whom can be victims of abuse, coercion or trafficking. | In France, a country where sex with prostitutes is not illegal, but soliciting and pimping are, the trial has also generated questions about whether the laws against prostitution need updating. Some argue that the country should adopt Sweden’s practice of criminalizing the clients of prostitution rather than the prostitutes themselves, some of whom can be victims of abuse, coercion or trafficking. |
| Judge Bernard Lemaire said at the opening of the trial that the court was not an arbiter of public morality but was adjudicating whether laws had been broken. Mr. Strauss-Kahn’s defense team insists that he is the victim of a politically motivated witch hunt that is seeking to criminalize lust. | Judge Bernard Lemaire said at the opening of the trial that the court was not an arbiter of public morality but was adjudicating whether laws had been broken. Mr. Strauss-Kahn’s defense team insists that he is the victim of a politically motivated witch hunt that is seeking to criminalize lust. |
| If convicted, Mr. Strauss-Kahn could face up to 10 years in prison and fines of more than 1.5 million euros, or $1.7 million. | If convicted, Mr. Strauss-Kahn could face up to 10 years in prison and fines of more than 1.5 million euros, or $1.7 million. |
| Mr. Strauss-Kahn has thus far been a stoic and elusive figure in the courtroom. As he arrived at the courthouse in a car with dark tinted windows on Tuesday, he was accosted by several topless, screaming activists from Femen, a Ukrainian feminist organization. | |
| He has acknowledged being present at sex parties. But his defense team has said he played no part in organizing them and has insisted he was not aware that some of the women at the parties were prostitutes because they were all naked by the time he arrived. | He has acknowledged being present at sex parties. But his defense team has said he played no part in organizing them and has insisted he was not aware that some of the women at the parties were prostitutes because they were all naked by the time he arrived. |
| His defense lawyer has also put forward the defense that libertinage, or freewheeling sex between multiple and consensual partners behind closed doors, is an age-old and legal practice dating from the 16th century. | His defense lawyer has also put forward the defense that libertinage, or freewheeling sex between multiple and consensual partners behind closed doors, is an age-old and legal practice dating from the 16th century. |
| “I dare you to distinguish between a prostitute and a naked socialite,” his lawyer, Henri Leclerc, told Europe 1 radio after the accusations against him materialized in 2011. | “I dare you to distinguish between a prostitute and a naked socialite,” his lawyer, Henri Leclerc, told Europe 1 radio after the accusations against him materialized in 2011. |
| In more recent testimony, that has been leaked, Mr. Strauss-Kahn acknowledged that he referred to the women in cellphone text messages as “equipment.” He said he might have been naïve about why the young women were there. | In more recent testimony, that has been leaked, Mr. Strauss-Kahn acknowledged that he referred to the women in cellphone text messages as “equipment.” He said he might have been naïve about why the young women were there. |
| One of those accused alongside Mr. Strauss-Kahn is a French sex club owner, Dominique Alderweireld, known as Dodo la Saumure, who is said to have provided prostitutes for the parties the former I.M.F. chief attended. The other defendants include a Lille lawyer; the director, the owner and the public relations manager of the Carlton Hotel in Lille; and a former police chief in northern France. | One of those accused alongside Mr. Strauss-Kahn is a French sex club owner, Dominique Alderweireld, known as Dodo la Saumure, who is said to have provided prostitutes for the parties the former I.M.F. chief attended. The other defendants include a Lille lawyer; the director, the owner and the public relations manager of the Carlton Hotel in Lille; and a former police chief in northern France. |
| The timing of the case, which came to light when Mr. Strauss-Kahn was being spoken of as a leading candidate for the 2012 presidential election, has also raised questions. Mr. Strauss-Kahn’s defense team has argued that the pimping accusations were the result of illegal tapping of Mr. Strauss-Kahn’s phone to try to ensnare him in a scandal and to upend his ambitions to run for office. | The timing of the case, which came to light when Mr. Strauss-Kahn was being spoken of as a leading candidate for the 2012 presidential election, has also raised questions. Mr. Strauss-Kahn’s defense team has argued that the pimping accusations were the result of illegal tapping of Mr. Strauss-Kahn’s phone to try to ensnare him in a scandal and to upend his ambitions to run for office. |
| While conspiracy theories have swirled, Mr. Strauss-Kahn’s defense has been buttressed by the fact that the Lille prosecutor in 2013 recommended that the charges against him be dropped, indicating that the evidence was feeble, at best. But the magistrates investigating the case overruled the prosecutor and decided to proceed to trial. | While conspiracy theories have swirled, Mr. Strauss-Kahn’s defense has been buttressed by the fact that the Lille prosecutor in 2013 recommended that the charges against him be dropped, indicating that the evidence was feeble, at best. But the magistrates investigating the case overruled the prosecutor and decided to proceed to trial. |
| At the center of the scandal is the Carlton Hotel, whose faded glamour, palatial suites, marble statues, plastic flowers and ornate furniture in the style of Louis XVI provided the setting for orgies. | At the center of the scandal is the Carlton Hotel, whose faded glamour, palatial suites, marble statues, plastic flowers and ornate furniture in the style of Louis XVI provided the setting for orgies. |
| Mr. Strauss-Kahn has repeatedly said he never set foot inside the hotel. Just steps away from Lille’s main square, the hotel has become synonymous with a sex scandal that has brought notoriety to the picturesque business center, not far from the Belgian border. | |
| Prosecutors say that Mr. Strauss-Kahn participated in a traveling international sex circuit where businessmen helped pay for parties costing as much as $13,000. Some of the money went to prostitutes, according to a lawyer for the main host, because not enough women were present. | Prosecutors say that Mr. Strauss-Kahn participated in a traveling international sex circuit where businessmen helped pay for parties costing as much as $13,000. Some of the money went to prostitutes, according to a lawyer for the main host, because not enough women were present. |
| The trial is the latest indignity for Mr. Strauss-Kahn, who had scaled the heights of the French establishment and the world of international banking before a series of scandals sent his political career crashing. In 2011, he resigned as head of the I.M.F. after he was accused of sexually assaulting a housekeeper at a hotel in New York. The charges were later dropped. | The trial is the latest indignity for Mr. Strauss-Kahn, who had scaled the heights of the French establishment and the world of international banking before a series of scandals sent his political career crashing. In 2011, he resigned as head of the I.M.F. after he was accused of sexually assaulting a housekeeper at a hotel in New York. The charges were later dropped. |
| He has since been trying to restart his career, working as a consultant, lecturing and advising foreign countries such as Serbia as well as large companies in Russia, Africa and Latin America. | He has since been trying to restart his career, working as a consultant, lecturing and advising foreign countries such as Serbia as well as large companies in Russia, Africa and Latin America. |