Strauss-Kahn prosecutor calls for acquittal in pimping trial

Maya Vidon and Angela Waters | Special for USA TODAY

PARIS — A French prosecutor called for the acquittal of Dominique Strauss-Kahn in his pimping trial Tuesday, prompting outrage and conspiracy theories.

The request by prosecutor Frederic Fevre came a day after five of six plaintiffs dropped their accusations against the former International Monetary Fund chief.

"His notoriety shouldn't be in any way a presumption of guilt," Fevre said during the third and final week of the trial in Lille, France. Judges will decide whether to drop the charges.

Strauss-Kahn, 65, testified to having orgies, to being "rough" with his sexual "conquests" and to needing sex with exceptional frequency, the Associated Press reported.

He is on trial with 13 others for "aggravated pimping" in relation to a prostitution ring operating out of a hotel in Lille, in northern France, as well as in Washington and Brussels. If convicted, he could face up to 10 years in prison and a $1.7 million fine.

It's not illegal to pay for sex in France, but it's against the law to solicit or run a prostitution business.

"He bought out the accusers. He bought out everyone," said Sabine Azoulay, 52, who owns a communication agency in Paris. "Why did they back down?" she added, referring to the accusers who dropped their charges.

Azoulay also said Strauss-Kahn was a scapegoat, "because people are deeply jealous of those who are successful."

Strauss-Kahn, often referred to as DSK in France, still may have lost everything. He stepped down from his IMF post and had to walk away from running for president of France after he was accused of sexual assault on a hotel maid in New York in 2011. His wife, journalist Anne Sinclair, editor of Huffington Post France, divorced him in 2013.

"DSK has a psychological and sexual problem, which caught up with him despite his power," said Anne-Sophie Bach, 22, of Strasbourg, France. "No matter who you are or what position you have, you can't get away with this. DSK needs to face the charges."

Regine Magne, a legal affairs commentator based in Paris, is not surprised that Strauss-Kahn could likely be acquitted because the case is weak.

"We didn't quite understand if DSK was charged for reprehensible sexual conduct or for a suspicion of assistance to prostitution," she said about the trial. She said the charges, which run 100 pages long, were "more a catalog of the sexual practices of DSK than the proof that he was guilty of pimping."

Carole Gascard, 49, a library curator in Paris, said she is angry. "I find this incredible," she said. "The lawyers of the plaintiffs pull back! They claim they can't prove anything! How much did DSK pay them to withdraw? It's really very dirty. All this story disappointed me."

Waters reported from Berlin