Charges unraveling

Former International Monetary Fund (IMF) chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn was released without bail Friday at a New York court hearing on his sexual assault charges, as holes were developing in the prosecution's case against him.

Prosecutors agreed Friday to release Strauss-Kahn on his own recognizance. His lawyers said they will move to have the charges against him dropped, but the judge said the prosecution plans to pursue the case.

Prosecutors admitted Friday they had growing doubts about the credibility of their main witness, a New York hotel maid who has accused the former IMF chief of attempting to rape her as she cleaned his room.

"I understand that the circumstances of this case have changed substantially and I agree the risk that he would not be here has receded quite a bit," Justice Michael Obus told the court.

"I release Mr. Strauss-Kahn at his own recognizance."

Tattered credibility

Prosecutors said Friday that the 32-year-old Guinean immigrant, who claims she was sexually assaulted by Strauss-Kahn, had lied about what happened immediately after her encounter with the former IMF chief in his $3,000-a-night New York City hotel suite.

The alleged victim had originally told prosecutors and the grand jury that she fled Strauss-Kahn's hotel room, Suite 2806, after he sexually assaulted her and immediately reported the incident to her supervisor. She has now admitted, however, that her first account was not true.

"The complainant has since admitted that this account was false and that after the incident in Suite 2806, she proceeded to clean a nearby room and then returned to Suite 2806 and began to clean that suite before she reported the incident to her supervisor," assistant prosecutor Joan Illuzzi-Orbon said in a court document.

Prosecutors also admitted Friday that the alleged victim had lied about being politically persecuted in her native Guinea in order to gain asylum in the US and had cheated on her taxes by claiming an additional child as a dependent. She also misrepresented her income in order to maintain her present housing.

The alleged victim's lawyer, Kenneth Thompson, told reporters that despite the inconsistencies, the allegations against Strauss-Kahn are the truth.

"The victim from day one described a violent sexual assault. …She has never once changed a single thing about that account. The District Attorney knows that. That was true the day it happened. That was true today," Thompson said.

"The victim here may have made some mistakes, but that doesn't mean she's not a rape victim," Thompson said.

Forensic tests have shown evidence of a sexual encounter between the Frenchman and the woman. Strauss-Kahn maintains the relations were consensual.

A new page

In exchange for being released on his own recognizance, Strauss-Kahn pledged to appear at all further court dates and not to leave the United States. His $1 million and $5 million property bond will be returned to him.

"We are grateful to the office of the district attorney for following up on this investigation and making these disclosures," Strauss-Kahn attorney William Taylor said, adding: "These disclosures reinforce our conviction that he will be exonerated."

Strauss-Kahn faces charges including attempted rape, sexual assault and sexual abuse. He has pleaded not guilty to the alleged assault on May 14 at the Sofitel Hotel in midtown Manhattan.

Strauss-Kahn, who stepped down from his position at the IMF, had been considered a front-running Socialist contender for the French presidency. His political supporters welcomed the news Friday, some of them holding out hope that he may run yet in 2012.

Author: David Levitz, Spencer Kimball (Reuters, AFP, dpa)

Editor: John Kluempers