Dominique Strauss-Kahn pimping trial to begin in France

[frigidmagi]

bbc

Former IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn is set to go on trial in France to face pimping charges.

Mr Strauss-Kahn, 65, is accused of helping to procure sex workers for an alleged prostitution ring based at a hotel in Lille.

The former presidential hopeful has admitted attending sex parties there, but says he did not know that some of the women were prostitutes.

The case is the latest sex-related allegation to trouble Mr Strauss-Kahn.

He stepped down as International Monetary Fund leader after being accused of attempted rape by a hotel maid in New York in 2011.

The charges were eventually dropped, and Mr Strauss-Kahn reached a settlement with the maid, Nafissatou Diallo.

Two other cases against him, concerning allegations of sexual assault and gang rape, have already been dropped.

On Monday, he will appear in court along with 13 others, including the owner of a brothel known as "Dodo the Pimp".

Mr Strauss-Khan is facing a charge of "aggravated pimping" and is accused of using his business contacts to hire women for sex parties in Paris, Lille and Washington.

His lawyers argue that although he has admitted attending these parties, that he was completely unaware that many of the women involved were paid prostitutes.

The BBC's Lucy Williamson in Paris says the case has been described as a litmus test for changing attitudes in France with the private lives of public figures now facing more scrutiny than in the past.