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Dominique Strauss-Kahn Trial: 5 Plaintiffs Drop Pimping Accusations

ive of six plaintiffs in a high-profile French prostitution trial have dropped their accusations against Dominique Strauss-Kahn.
Image: Dominique Strauss-Kahn
(FILES) -- A file photo taken on October 9, 2011 shows former IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn arriving at a polling station for the Socialist party's (PS) 2011 primary vote for the 2012 French presidential election in Sarcelles, northern suburb of Paris. Strauss-Kahn is to be quizzed as a suspect about involvement in an alleged illegal prostitution ring, a source familiar with the case said on February 18, 2012. He has been summoned for questioning on February 21 and can be held for up to 48 hours without being charged during a police probe into the organisation of sex parties in restaurants and swingers' clubs in Paris, Washington, Madrid, Vienna and Ghent, Belgium. AFP PHOTO / MIGUEL MEDINA (Photo credit should read MIGUEL MEDINA/AFP/Getty Images)MIGUEL MEDINA / AFP - Getty Images, file

LILLE, France — Five of six plaintiffs in a high-profile French prostitution trial have dropped their accusations against Dominique Strauss-Kahn, arguing that there isn't enough proof that the former International Monetary Fund chief violated the law.

The move Monday increases the chances that Strauss-Kahn, a onetime contender for the French presidency, will be acquitted of charges of aggravated pimping. Strauss-Kahn argues that he was unaware that women involved in orgies with him were paid sex workers. Court officials said lawyers for four prostitutes and an association that had filed suit are abandoning their pursuit of Strauss-Kahn. They maintained accusations against other co-defendants in the trial in the northern city of Lille. One association, called Nid or "nest," maintained its accusations against Strauss-Kahn.

Image: Dominique Strauss-Kahn
(FILES) -- A file photo taken on October 9, 2011 shows former IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn arriving at a polling station for the Socialist party's (PS) 2011 primary vote for the 2012 French presidential election in Sarcelles, northern suburb of Paris. Strauss-Kahn is to be quizzed as a suspect about involvement in an alleged illegal prostitution ring, a source familiar with the case said on February 18, 2012. He has been summoned for questioning on February 21 and can be held for up to 48 hours without being charged during a police probe into the organisation of sex parties in restaurants and swingers' clubs in Paris, Washington, Madrid, Vienna and Ghent, Belgium. AFP PHOTO / MIGUEL MEDINA (Photo credit should read MIGUEL MEDINA/AFP/Getty Images)MIGUEL MEDINA / AFP - Getty Images, file

IN-DEPTH

  • Ex-IMF Boss Dominique Strauss-Kahn's Pimping Trial Begins
— The Associated Press