Dominique Strauss-Kahn acquitted in primping case

FORMER International Monetary Fund chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn has been cleared of pimping charges in a French trial.

Henri Leclerc, right, lawyer of former International Monetary Fund chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn, answers journalists at a Lille courthouse, northern France. Picture: AP

The verdict closes four years of legal drama that hinged on sex parties that took place in the midst of the global financial crisis.

Ten others were also acquitted.

Mr Strauss-Kahn had told the court the parties were “recreational sessions” and he did not know the women who took part were prostitutes.

Dominique Strauss-Kahn. Picture: AP

In often sordid testimony, the women described sometimes brutal get-togethers.

Allegations against Mr Strauss-Kahn started when a New York hotel maid accused him of sexual assault in 2011. That case was settled out of court.