Story highlights 13 of 14 defendants in the case have been cleared of all criminal charges

A judge says there was not enough evidence to convict Strauss-Kahn, a former presidential hopeful

Strauss-Kahn had seemed to have a strong chance at the French presidency until a separate sex scandal erupted in New York

(CNN) A court in France acquitted Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the former head of the International Monetary Fund, on Friday of charges of aggravated pimping.

Strauss-Kahn, 66, once thought to be a top contender for the French presidency, had been accused in connection with sex parties he attended in various cities across the world.

The judge said Friday that Strauss-Kahn, commonly referred to as DSK, didn't deny his participation in the sex parties but said he did not know the women were prostitutes.

The judge agreed that the status of the women was not clear, giving a long list of other people who claimed not to know they were prostitutes.

DSK calls self a libertine

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