Strauss-Kahn's DNA found on maid's clothes: report

[brooklynite]

Source: NY Post

Looks like his reputation may be stained for good.

Traces of sperm from disgraced former IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn were found on the clothes worn by the maid who claims she was sexually assaulted inside a Manhattan hotel room, according to a new report.

The French website Atlantico.fr reported today that Strauss-Kahn's DNA was found on the woman's dress, saying the NYPD notified French authorities of the development on Sunday.

Strauss-Kahn's defense team has said the alleged assault may have been consensual.

Read more: http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/strauss_kahn_dna_found_on_maid_clothes_ENmOMOr0AwWaZpSGoEvm2H

---

The only way SK is getting out of this (and the odd are probably already too long), is to publicly acknowledge he was expecting a hooker dressed as a maid, and got too "worked up" before discovering the mistake. If he tries to claim the maid was consenting to his attentions, I think he's going to to get a fast conviction and a long sentence.

[daleo]

1. This is what courts are for

In other words, I am waiting for a trial or a guilty plea. News reports based on web sites are often incorrect.

[JDPriestly]

9. Me too. I will wait. We don't know all the facts, not be a long

shot.

[asjr]

2. From now on this guy may be showing

his flag at half-mast or less.

[notadmblnd]

3. yeah. it was consensual. That's why she left her clothes on.

Everyone knows hotel housekeepers always have sex in their uniforms:sarcasm:

[former9thward]

6. The argument for consent is a BJ.

Believe or not BJs occur often when one party has all their clothes on.

[Yo_Mama]

7. They are both marked up from a struggle

That's not going to fly.

And believe it or not, an attempt at anal entry will often get a desperate woman to opt for the less physically harmful option. The legs are the strongest part of most women's frames. She could keep them clamped....

You can get anyone to open their mouth if you hold your hand over their nose. It's beginning to seem as if perhaps this guy was an expert.

He's toast. The French are now trying to negotiate for him being sentenced in the US but transferred to France to serve his sentence there. The only thing left to happen is for the choppers to be chasing him through a NY traffic jam as he heads out to Quebec. Paging Johnny Cochrane, paging Johnny Cochrane....

Here's more detail from another report:
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2011/05/23/exclusive-dsk-told-maid-dont-you-know-who-i-am-during-alleged-sex-attack/
The blood-stained white bed sheets were later taken into evidence by police.

The investigators already have proof that the maid followed hotel protocol and that another employee checked the suite and confirmed that it appeared that the occupant was gone.

The French are going wild over this stuff.

[JDPriestly]

10. Another employee was in the suite and told her to go in.

For that reason, the time she entered cannot be ascertained. Since another employee let her in, she did not have to swipe her card to get in.

This adds another layer of questions about whether the maid followed protocol.

Lots of people might have been interested in setting up Strauss-Kahn. This is not a run-of-the-mill he said, she said case.

We shall see what the evidence is in the trial if there is one.

When the money is available to investigate and find out all the facts, cases do not always go as the press expects.

[athena]

31. The time she entered, and the time the door closed, can be ascertained

from the card the maid used to enter the room. I bet the police already has this information.

It's amazing how much misinformation and crazy speculation there is on DU.

[JDPriestly]

42. She did not use a card to enter the room.

Another employee was in there and let her in.

I read that in Le Monde.

[TorchTheWitch]

35. Surveillance cameras are in every hallway

There is no hotel room door that is not covered by a camera. That's all they'd need to ascertain the time she entered and left the suite.

http://www.sofitel.com/gb/hotel-2185-sofitel-new-york/index.shtml
Security Features:
* 24 hour security staff
* Complies w. Htl Safety Act 1990
* Video camera at bldg entrance
* Video surveillance in hallways
* Smoke alarm in public areas

Even little podunky hotels and motels have complete video surveillance now in all common areas... good luck getting insured without it.

[Nye Bevan]

15. Interesting that the debate is shifting to where he will serve his sentence.

As opposed to whether or not he is guilty.

[reorg]

19. what do we really know?

Ben Brafman, an attorney for Strauss-Kahn, said he couldn’t comment.

Erin Duggan, spokeswoman for New York District Attorney Cyrus Vance also declined to comment.

Jeffrey Shapiro, attorney for the maid, did not immediately return requests for messages left on his cell phone, at his office and via email.

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2011/05/23/exclusive-dsk-told-maid-dont-you-know-who-i-am-during-alleged-sex-attack/

The maid doesn't talk either:



But Fox News knows everything.

[athena]

32. He doesn't even need to have forced her mouth open.

In New York State, contact is all that is required for "oral conduct", which, when accompanied by force, is the same level of felony as forcible rape.

[athena]

33. Thanks for that link.

It provides more detail than I had seen. I feel so bad for the maid. The poor woman must be traumatized. I am appalled that people (especially in France) feel more sorry for DSK losing his job and being photographed in handcuffs than what this poor woman is going through.

[athena]

30. No, oral conduct does not imply consent.

In New York State, forcible oral conduct is a class-B felony and can get up to 25 years in prison. This would not be the case if a BJ implied consent.

[former9thward]

41. I said it was an argument for consent not that it was implied.

DNA all over the place only proves they had contact. The question is what was the nature of the contact.

[Sen. Walter Sobchak]

4. more of the same...

Newspapers reporting an unsubstantiated report printed on a website quoting an unnamed source claiming something that doesn't entirely make sense.

[Yo_Mama]

5. Are you nuts?

The only way SK is getting out of this (and the odd are probably already too long), is to publicly acknowledge he was expecting a hooker dressed as a maid, and got too "worked up" before discovering the mistake.

That's not a defense, that's a CONFESSION.

Sorry, if you want to engage in mock rapes, if you rape the wrong person you are legally liable! That would not be a defense!

No, he'll be pled.

[LisaL]

17. Exactly. How is "I only attacked the maid because I believed

her to be a hooker" is going to legally get anyone out of it? Boggles the mind that someone would claim that it would.

[jberryhill]

21. Because the attempted rape charge requires intent

[athena]

29. The prosecution does not have to prove intent.

Even without the attempted rape charge, he can get up to 75 years in prison for one count of forcible anal conduct and two counts of forcible oral conduct. (Oral/anal conduct requires only contact with the area in question and is the same level of felony as rape in New York State.)

We are not dealing with a murder charge here, where intent would be important.

[jberryhill]

36. For an ATTEMPT charge, yes you do need to prove intent

Duh.

Several of the counts do not require intent.

But if you actually think for a moment about the attempted rape charge, then it should dawn on you the difference between a charge of X and a charge of ATTEMPTED X in terms of intent.

For just about any crime, you can be charged with the crime or the attempt. The attempt always requires intent, because the entire point was that you were trying to do the crime.

That is what an ATTEMPT is - actions not constituting an offense undertaken with the intent to complete the offense, and I was referring to the attempt charges apart from the others.

There is one exception in some states in relation to attempted suicide, for which only the attempt itself is a crime, for obvious reasons.

[athena]

39. What an uncivil response.

Are you incapable of making your point without being rude and condescending?

What I wrote in my previous post was that the forcible "oral/anal conduct" charges are enough to put DSK in prison for up to 75 years. An "attempted rape" charge is not needed to put DSK in prison.

Furthermore, I have read through the entire New York State law on this and saw no mention of a need to prove intent for a charge of attempted rape. Perhaps you can point to the exact clause that requires and defines intent in cases of rape or sexual assault?

[jberryhill]

40. It's one of those mornings

"Furthermore, I have read through the entire New York State law on this and saw no mention of a need to prove intent for a charge of attempted rape. Perhaps you can point to the exact clause that requires and defines intent in cases of rape or sexual assault?"

You didn't read the attempt statute.

What you have in any penal code is a set of defined offenses, which state the actions and mental state required for each offense. Some offenses require a mental state, and some do not.

Then, on top of that, for most offenses X, there are general catch-alls for attempt, accomplice liability, etc.

No, you do not find a statute for "murder" and another statute for "attempted murder". An "attempted murder" charge is when someone is trying to commit "murder" and fails in some respect, but otherwise had the intent to complete the required acts.

Generally, you might review this:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attempt_crime

The essence of the crime of attempt is that the defendant has failed to commit the actus reus (the Latin term for the "guilty act") of the full offense, but has the direct and specific intent to commit that full offense.


The attempt provisions in the NY code are:

S 110.00 Attempt to commit a crime.

A person is guilty of an attempt to commit a crime when, with intent
to commit a crime, he engages in conduct which tends to effect the
commission of such crime.

S 110.05 Attempt to commit a crime; punishment.

An attempt to commit a crime is a:
1. Class A-I felony when the crime attempted is the A-I felony of
murder in the first degree, criminal possession of a controlled sub-
stance in the first degree or criminal sale of a controlled substance in
the first degree;
2. Class A-II felony when the crime attempted is a class A-II felony;
3. Class B felony when the crime attempted is a class A-I felony
except as provided in subdivision one hereof;
4. Class C felony when the crime attempted is a class B felony;
5. Class D felony when the crime attempted is a class C felony;
6. Class E felony when the crime attempted is a class D felony;
7. Class A misdemeanor when the crime attempted is a class E felony;
8. Class B misdemeanor when the crime attempted is a misdemeanor.


Now, notice how attempt affects the grading of the offense. If an offense is graded as an A-1 felony of certain types, then there is no difference between an attempt and the actual felony. The differences in grading shake out as you get lower down the rung.

There is no statute for "attempted rape". What there is, is a statute for rape, and a general provision for criminal attempt, cited above. The attempt definition applies to all crimes except, for example, status offenses.

If you look at the full set of charges, you'll notice that several are what are called "lesser included offenses" in the headline charges, and that the charges carrying the most serious potential penalties are the attempt charges. A "lesser included offense" is something that is an independent offense, but which is a requisite component of a more serious offense. I don't do criminal defense, and certainly not in New York, but it is not typical to have consecutive sentences for the lesser includeds when you have a conviction on the primary charges.

In a tough defense situation, where I'm charged with an attempted A-1 felony and a class A misdemeanor, then I have some choices to make. On a first offense with potential mitigating factors, I might just go ahead and plead to the Class A misdemeanor and take my chances on sentencing, and go ahead and defend against the attempt charge on lack of intent. That can clear out a lot of brush, since we don't need to get into the actions so much as deal with the intent issue on the charge that we're going to proceed on.

You are correct that the lesser charges can put DSK in prison. But if you are looking at 5 years with a potential deferment or commutation of some of that, versus spinning the wheel and going for decades.

From all indications, it looks like he has a tough defense on her testimony and the struggle evidence alone. The DNA itself is not as big a deal as some think, because a hotel guest's DNA is all over a hotel room and of course is present in shed cells on linens, towels, wastecans, etc. If you come into contact with some guy's bed linens in a hotel where he's been staying alone, the fact that you might have trace semen on your clothing doesn't, by itself, prove much of anything.

So - consider this scenario:

1. I pick up a gun, point it at you, and pull the trigger. The gun is not loaded.

I might be charged with a number of things there. The best charge you are going to get is attempted murder. You can tack on what states variously call assault or terroristic threatening etc.

The point is, if I knew the gun wasn't loaded, I'll take the rap on the lesser charges and defend against the attempted murder charge on the ground that I did not intend to kill you.

If I believed the gun was loaded, and was really trying to kill you, I still might plead the same way, and put you to your proof of my intent.

So, let's go back to your original question.

You asked, in a nutshell, how intent would matter. The answer, simply put, is that it matters on the attempt charges which, for some reason, you did not seem to believe. It does not "boggle the mind" that someone would go after intent, where you have a set of charges with several attempted felonies, and a set of misdemeanors attached. It's normal.

[msanthrope]

8. Interesting--traces of sperm found on her clothes?

I read the Atlantico article, in the original, and I've got to say, it has a surprising amount of detail.

[whathehell]

11. He tried to put the moves on a French Flight Attendant shortly before cops came to pick him up

"What a nice ass!" he barked to the attendant, using the lewd French expression "Quel beau cul!" as she prepared the business-class cabin for takeoff last Saturday.

His catcall came just moments before Port Authority detectives hauled him off the plane, the French magazine Le Point reported.

The final act of lust capped a whirlwind weekend of attempted womanizing for the former front-runner of the 2012 French presidential election.



Read more: http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/strauss_kahn_dna_found_on_maid_clothes_ENmOMOr0AwWaZpSGoEvm2H#ixzz1NDYWIU6x


This scenario could play on SNL.:eyes:

[NJCher]

24. tried to get hotel workers to his room, too

The NY Post article also says he tried to get a couple female hotel workers to his room. So think about it: this is three overt sexual overtures within one day. Don't you think that's a lot for a sixty-something man? Shouldn't he be popping Viagra or something?

But no! The guy is out telling women they have a nice ass, or asking hotel workers to his room, and jumping hotel maids from behind while he is in the nude. And forcing them to have oral sex.

I think there's something bizarre about that amount of obsession with sex at his age. Maybe he's a sex addict?

Peggy Noonan wrote an opinion in the WSJ that commented on how none of this is surprising (she included Arnold in her article). Also, DSK was warned by Sarkozy about his behavior. It sounds like he knew

[DCBob]

12. He's not getting out of this.. this is final piece of evidence needed to charge and likely convict.

DSK is toast... imo.

[Nye Bevan]

13. Au revoir, Monsieur le Dickhead (nt)

[dipsydoodle]

14. He thought she was a poor third world country

The IMF are used to fucking those.

http://newsthump.com/2011/05/17/imf-chief-tried-to-fuck-maid-after-mistaking-her-for-a-small-financially-crippled-country/

[jberryhill]

16. Well THAT would never happen from cleaning someone's hotel room

Uh..

[LisaL]

18. It doesn't sound like she ever got to clean it.

[jberryhill]

20. That is correct

Of course the most direct explanation is obvious.

However this fact in isolation is not particularly damning. There is a reason why hotel cleaning staff wear gloves and aprons. When you are in contact with other people's linens and bathroom waste, one will come into contact with loads of shed skin cells, mucuous, and secretions of all sorts.

[athena]

34. According to the NYT article, she had cleaned half of the suite before meeting DSK.

See
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/24/nyregion/evidence-said-to-tie-imf-chief-to-housekeeper.html?_r=1&hp
and click on the interactive feature recreating the enounter.

[jberryhill]

43. Which, in isolation from other evidence...

...renders what has been released about "a DNA match" not to mean a whole lot.

Clean my room and your clothes will yield my DNA.

[reorg]

22. I don't think it's the only way

You can get too "worked up" while in the shower already and DNA can easily change places later. Somebody stumbles, you help them up, if you don't have your clothes on there will be body contact.

[jberryhill]

37. It is a hotel room, your DNA is all over it

Do people really not realize they are shedding cells wherever they go?

Clothed or not.

Someone who cleans your hotel room touches your sheets, your towels, your trash, etc.

[Odin2005]

23. Stick a fork in him, this Rapist fucker is cooked.

[roguevalley]

25. agreed. Good. he could always use the flat tire defense. fucker.

[joshcryer]

26. Plea deal in 3...2...1.

[rayofreason]

27. Was it a blue dress? n/t

[Princess Turandot]

28. The NYT has an exhibit up which shows the layout of the suite in question..

It makes it easier to understand how someone could enter and not realize that someone was there in the shower. It is an L-shaped layout, with the bathroom in an alcove at the far end of one of the sections.

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2011/05/22/nyregion/hotel-diagram.html?ref=nyregion

PT

[AngryAmish]

38. 1100 square foot hotel room in Manhatten

WHo was paying for it?

[reorg]

44. it was an upgrade

and he paid for it himself. Has been reported several times:

William Murray, a spokesman for the International Monetary Fund, said that Mr. Strauss-Kahn had paid $525 for the room, according to a Travelocity reservation receipt provided by Mr. Strauss-Kahn’s office. Mr. Murray said that Mr. Strauss-Kahn had stayed at the Sofitel several times before, and that the I.M.F. had not expected to reimburse him for the cost.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/17/nyregion/imf-chief-is-held-without-bail.html?pagewanted=2&_r=1&sq=imf-chief-is-held-without-bail&st=cse&scp=1

Strauss-Kahn checked into a $3,000-a-night suite at the luxury Sofitel hotel in midtown Manhattan, for which he paid a discounted rate of $800, a law enforcement source said.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/05/17/strausskahn-timeline-idUSN1628497620110517