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Black Star News Editorial]
Accused rapist Dominique Strauss-Kahn could be eating croissants in France sooner rather than later.
Should he dodge the bullet, as now seems highly apparent, he could still end up occupying the Elysee Palace as President of France next year.
Can you imagine the welcome the French man would receive from supporters when he lands in Paris. Once seemingly a nightmare scenario, the rape allegations against him could actually boost him --as a victim wrongfully accused-- into hero status. Nicolas Sarkozy can’t be happy today.
Dramatic news have turned events away from Strauss-Kahn being the accused wrongdoer to the alleged victim becoming a convict in the eyes of the public. Ironically, the shift is so dramatic that the question of whether Strauss-Kahn actually committed sexual assault at the Sofitel Hotel in Manhattan is now overwhelmed by the focus on the alleged victims "credibility."
Those who alleged a sinister plot from Nicolas Sarkozy's camp could now even claim vindicated--even if, as it seems, there was no such plot.
The alleged victim faced hurdles from the get-go. A Black woman, an African immigrant, accusing a top and wealthy Frenchman, chief of the International Monetary Fund, and prospective president of France, of rape.
Yet, things seemed to be on the alleged victim's side for a number of reasons.
>She was said to have immediately reported the alleged sexual attack to her supervisors at the hotel.
>She was said to have been a quiet and devout Muslim woman, which would undermine Strauss-Kahn's contention of consensual sexual intercourse.
>She was reported to have been a hard worker, a single parent, who was keen on taking care of the welfare of her daughter.
>Strauss-Kahn had a reputation as a sexual predator and sexual coercer.
Yet as the case progressed, the District Attorney in Manhattan County discovered several damning issues that, while not directly tied to what happened in Strauss-Kahn's hotel room, undermines the woman's "credibility." Yes--the woman's not Strauss-Kahn's because when it comes to allegations of sexual attacks against a woman, it's actually the alleged victim who's always on trial:
>The DA has discovered that the woman lied on her U.S. asylum application that she had been gang-raped in Guinea. So while she lied in the past, even if she was indeed raped by Strauss-Kahn, all his lawyers would have to do is bring up this information at trial and her prospects are doomed.
>The woman is now reported to have lied about the immediate aftermath of the rape. She did not report it immediately. She is now reported to have even cleaned another room before reporting the attack. This in itself is not as damaging since she might have been traumatized and disoriented. What's more some women report rapes days, weeks, or months later. In the case of Tristane Banon, the French journalist who recently accused Strauss-Kahn of attempted rape, it was nearly 10 years later. However, in this New York case, given the woman's "humble" position in the eyes of the American public --a Black woman against a wealthy White prospective president-- the bar is raised even higher.
>She is reported to have had a telephone conversation with a man behind bars who was allegedly detained for possessing 400 pounds of marijuana, and discussed the benefits of pursuing the case against Strauss-Kahn. This in itself, while wrongful, is not fatal, since she had already reported the alleged rape to law enforcement authorities. Had it been the other way around --reporting the alleged rape only after discussing it with a third party-- it would be potentially fatal. The conversation was recorded and of course, it is absolutely fatal, and she would be exposed to charges against her if the tape-recording revealed that she had not been raped. Yet the District Attorney would have revealed this already and dismissed the case against Strauss-Kahn.
>She is reported to have had sums of money totaling over $100,000 deposited into her account, from different cities over a two year period, by the suspect. Since the bar is high for this alleged victim, this is fatal information.
>She is reported to have paid hundreds of dollars per month to five different phone companies while lying that she only had one cell phone.
>It's highly likely that additional damaging information could still be revealed either by the District Attorney or the Frenchman's lawyers.
Based on all the above it's clear that the alleged victim won't be able to surmount the high bar she has to scale, not to get her day in court, but to first level the playing field, before even sustaining allegations of rape.
These are the considerations that faced District Attorney Cyrus Vance. The government agreed with Strauss-Kahn's lawyers' application that his bail conditions be eased and that he be freed from house arrest. While the DA still maintains the position that the woman was a victim of sexual assault he knows the reality of trying such cases.
Strauss-Kahn had reason to smile when he emerged from the hearing this morning. He knows that the burden of proof was on the woman who would have had to have been pristine. The next court date is later this month and his passport is still being held by the authorities. Yet the French scoundrel and his wealthy and ever forgiving wife --who seems to abet his peculiar proclivities-- might already be thinking about how to redecorate the Elysee Palace.
Accused rapist Dominique Strauss-Kahn could be eating croissants in France sooner rather than later.
Should he dodge the bullet, as now seems highly apparent, he could still end up occupying the Elysee Palace as President of France next year.
Can you imagine the welcome the French man would receive from supporters when he lands in Paris. Once seemingly a nightmare scenario, the rape allegations against him could actually boost him --as a victim wrongfully accused-- into hero status. Nicolas Sarkozy can’t be happy today.
Dramatic news have turned events away from Strauss-Kahn being the accused wrongdoer to the alleged victim becoming a convict in the eyes of the public. Ironically, the shift is so dramatic that the question of whether Strauss-Kahn actually committed sexual assault at the Sofitel Hotel in Manhattan is now overwhelmed by the focus on the alleged victims "credibility."
Those who alleged a sinister plot from Nicolas Sarkozy's camp could now even claim vindicated--even if, as it seems, there was no such plot.
The alleged victim faced hurdles from the get-go. A Black woman, an African immigrant, accusing a top and wealthy Frenchman, chief of the International Monetary Fund, and prospective president of France, of rape.
Yet, things seemed to be on the alleged victim's side for a number of reasons.
>She was said to have immediately reported the alleged sexual attack to her supervisors at the hotel.
>She was said to have been a quiet and devout Muslim woman, which would undermine Strauss-Kahn's contention of consensual sexual intercourse.
>She was reported to have been a hard worker, a single parent, who was keen on taking care of the welfare of her daughter.
>Strauss-Kahn had a reputation as a sexual predator and sexual coercer.
Yet as the case progressed, the District Attorney in Manhattan County discovered several damning issues that, while not directly tied to what happened in Strauss-Kahn's hotel room, undermines the woman's "credibility." Yes--the woman's not Strauss-Kahn's because when it comes to allegations of sexual attacks against a woman, it's actually the alleged victim who's always on trial:
>The DA has discovered that the woman lied on her U.S. asylum application that she had been gang-raped in Guinea. So while she lied in the past, even if she was indeed raped by Strauss-Kahn, all his lawyers would have to do is bring up this information at trial and her prospects are doomed.
>The woman is now reported to have lied about the immediate aftermath of the rape. She did not report it immediately. She is now reported to have even cleaned another room before reporting the attack. This in itself is not as damaging since she might have been traumatized and disoriented. What's more some women report rapes days, weeks, or months later. In the case of Tristane Banon, the French journalist who recently accused Strauss-Kahn of attempted rape, it was nearly 10 years later. However, in this New York case, given the woman's "humble" position in the eyes of the American public --a Black woman against a wealthy White prospective president-- the bar is raised even higher.
>She is reported to have had a telephone conversation with a man behind bars who was allegedly detained for possessing 400 pounds of marijuana, and discussed the benefits of pursuing the case against Strauss-Kahn. This in itself, while wrongful, is not fatal, since she had already reported the alleged rape to law enforcement authorities. Had it been the other way around --reporting the alleged rape only after discussing it with a third party-- it would be potentially fatal. The conversation was recorded and of course, it is absolutely fatal, and she would be exposed to charges against her if the tape-recording revealed that she had not been raped. Yet the District Attorney would have revealed this already and dismissed the case against Strauss-Kahn.
>She is reported to have had sums of money totaling over $100,000 deposited into her account, from different cities over a two year period, by the suspect. Since the bar is high for this alleged victim, this is fatal information.
>She is reported to have paid hundreds of dollars per month to five different phone companies while lying that she only had one cell phone.
>It's highly likely that additional damaging information could still be revealed either by the District Attorney or the Frenchman's lawyers.
Based on all the above it's clear that the alleged victim won't be able to surmount the high bar she has to scale, not to get her day in court, but to first level the playing field, before even sustaining allegations of rape.
These are the considerations that faced District Attorney Cyrus Vance. The government agreed with Strauss-Kahn's lawyers' application that his bail conditions be eased and that he be freed from house arrest. While the DA still maintains the position that the woman was a victim of sexual assault he knows the reality of trying such cases.
Strauss-Kahn had reason to smile when he emerged from the hearing this morning. He knows that the burden of proof was on the woman who would have had to have been pristine. The next court date is later this month and his passport is still being held by the authorities. Yet the French scoundrel and his wealthy and ever forgiving wife --who seems to abet his peculiar proclivities-- might already be thinking about how to redecorate the Elysee Palace.
