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Verdict due in pimping trial of Dominique Strauss-Kahn Dominique Strauss-Kahn acquitted of 'aggravated pimping'
(about 11 hours later)
A French court will rule on whether former IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn is guilty of aggravated pimping. A French court has acquitted former IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn of procuring prostitutes for sex parties in France, Belgium and the US.
He faces 10 years in prison if a judge in Lille holds that he procured prostitutes for sex parties in France, Belgium and the US. Mr Strauss-Kahn stood alongside 13 co-defendants, most of whom were acquitted with "aggravated pimping".
The state prosecutor has already recommended that he be acquitted. He has always denied knowing that some of the women who took part in orgies he attended were prostitutes.
Mr Strauss-Kahn has always denied knowing that some of the women who took part in the orgies he attended were working as prostitutes. The sexual habits of the former French presidential hopeful were at the centre of trial hearings in Lille in February.
France's former presidential hopeful stood trial in February alongside 13 co-defendants. The verdict brings to a close four years of legal proceedings against Mr Strauss-Kahn, including charges of attempted rape which were later dropped in 2012.
The sexual habits of Mr Strauss-Khan were at the centre of three weeks of hearings in February. The chief judge said Mr Strauss-Kahn behaved as a client and had not paid the sex workers he met. He only benefitted from others paying them to be present for group parties, the judge added.
Sex workers described his rough behaviour at some of the parties. But Mr Strauss-Khan said that he was not on trial for "deviant practices". Among the others acquitted was Belgian brothel owner Dominique Alderweireld, also known as Dodo la Saumure, who was accused of supplying prostitutes for the parties.
During the closing arguments of his trial, the Lille prosecutor Frederic Fevre told the court that they were "working with the penal code, not the moral code". At the scene: Lucy Williamson, BBC News, Lille
Mr Fevre also said that neither the investigation nor the evidence in court had established that he was guilty. Passing through the brutalist architecture of Lille's courthouse this morning came the colourful parade of characters whose private behaviour has been pored over by the world's media. Having been subject to moral judgements for months now, they came to hear the legal ones.
Earlier, five of the six plaintiffs in the case dropped their accusations against the 66-year-old. In the courtroom, DSK sat, largely immobile, in a dark suit and tie, hands folded in his lap as the defendants walked one by one to the stand to hear their verdict.
While Mr Strauss-Khan has admitted to being present at the orgies, he has always maintained that he did not know that some of the women involved were being paid. When his time came, he stood stiffly at the stand, looking straight ahead as the charges were read aloud.
The man who had one day hoped to be president of France showed almost no response when his acquittal came.
Entering the courthouse before the verdict, Dodo said the trial "was meant to topple DSK". If it was, it didn't work. And today Dominique Strauss-Khan walked free.
'Recreational sessions'
The former public relations chief of Hotel Carlton in Lille, where some of the sex parties took place, was the only defendant found guilty.
Rene Kojfer was given a year's suspended sentence for his involvement in recruiting prostitutes and was fined €2,500 (£1,800).
Dominique Strauss-Khan would have faced a 10-year jail term if found guilty.
During the three weeks of hearings in February, sex workers described Mr Strauss-Kahn's rough behaviour at some of the parties. But he argued that he was not on trial for "deviant practices".
He told the court he participated in the parties because he needed "recreational sessions" amid one of the world's worst financial crises.
In a surprise move, state prosecutor Frederic Fevre recommended his acquittal, saying there was not enough evidence to back up the pimping charge. However, Mr Fevre asked for his co-defendants to be convicted.
Five of the six plaintiffs - including four prostitutes - had also dropped their accusations against the 66-year-old.
While Mr Strauss-Kahn has admitted to being present at the orgies, he has always maintained that he did not know that some of the women involved were being paid.