Dominique Strauss-Kahn took a prostitute to visit his office at the International Monetary Fund in Washington, a French court heard on Wednesday, as a trial into pimping exposed lurid details of his sex life.
For a second day, the court in the northern city of Lille picked apart the sex parties attended by the 65-year-old in a bid to uncover whether he arranged for prostitutes to attend orgies in Paris, Brussels and Washington.
In legal terms, this is considered as procuring and is punishable by up to 10 years in prison.
Strauss-Kahn steadfastly denies knowing that the women with whom he engaged in “free and friendly” orgies were prostitutes, saying paying for sex would be too great a risk for a man at the head of the IMF, which was busy “saving the world from an unprecedented” financial crisis.
Tears and tension marked the start of proceedings Tuesday as an ex-prostitute, Jade, detailed a night in a Brussels hotel where she said Strauss-Kahn sodomised her without permission in what she said was a clear sign he knew she was paid to be there.
Jade sobbed as the court pushed her to recount the evening.
“I experienced a penetration without my permission. If I was a libertine, I would at least have been asked if I wanted to do that,” she said, adding she had not had time to protest.
Strauss-Kahn said he did not know she objected and was “sorry” she experienced it that way.
The judge then asked Jade why she had agreed to a trip to Washington with Strauss-Kahn in January 2010.
“For 2,000 euros! I am not going to say no. I love travelling. I had never seen Washington,” she said, admitting she had taken photographs of herself with Strauss-Kahn in his office at the IMF head office.
Jade said that while Strauss-Kahn`s entourage had asked her to be “discreet” and pretend she was a secretary on the trip to Washington, she had previously had a conversation with him in which she mentioned she worked at a swingers club.
“He said `it would be nice to come and see you one day`.”
Strauss-Kahn then took the stand and said being an erotic dancer did not make someone a prostitute.
Both Jade and another former prostitute have argued Strauss-Kahn would have been “naive” not to know they were paid.
