French court clears ex-IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn of 'aggravated pimping'

Ex-IMF director Dominique Strauss-Kahn was acquitted of "aggravated pimping" charges
(Image credit: Neilson Barnard/Getty Images)

On Friday, a court in Lille, France, acquitted former International Monetary Fund director Dominique Strauss-Kahn and 10 other defendants of "aggravated pimping" charges stemming from sex parties with prostitutes in luxury hotels. Strauss-Kahn denied organizing the orgies, telling the court that he didn't know the women were prostitutes and that he needed the "recreational sessions" while he was "saving the world from catastrophe" during the global financial crisis.

The acquittal ends four years of legal travails for Strauss-Kahn, beginning with the allegations by a maid in a New York hotel that Strauss-Kahn sexually assaulted her. That case was settled out of court.

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