Chorus of voices rises urging NY prosecutors to see Strauss-Kahn sex assault case through
Jul 13, 3:07 AM EDT
By COLLEEN LONG and JENNIFER PELTZ
Associated Press
NEW YORK (AP) -- As prosecutors privately weigh what to do with the sexual assault case against Dominique Strauss-Kahn, an increasingly loud discussion is shaping up between legal experts who say the case is doomed and advocates who argue the prosecution should proceed despite questions about the accuser's credibility.
The debate has grown from an inner circle of attorneys to a chorus of complaints casting shadows of race, class and power in the shifting narrative of the encounter between the rich, white former leader of the International Monetary Fund and the African immigrant hotel housekeeper who says he tried to rape her.
"If there's evidence, you don't turn the victim into a villain. ... Let the jury decide," said Robina Niaz, an advocate for Muslim women, who rallied last week outside the Manhattan courthouse where the case has taken several pivotal turns.