Nafissatou Diallo, maid who has accused DSK of sexual assault, insists she is telling truth
The Manhattan maid who has accused Dominique Strauss-Kahn of sexually assaulting her insists she's telling the truth and wants the powerful Frenchman to "go to jail."
Nafissatou Diallo broke her silence in dueling interviews with ABC News and Newsweek magazine, saying she initially feared her life was in jeopardy for making the stunning allegations.
"I watched Channel 7 and they say this guy - I don't know - and he is going to be the next president of France. And I think, they are going to kill me," the 32-year-old Bronx mother told Newsweek.
Diallo said she's speaking out publicly to repair her reputation after the New York Post branded her "a prostitute" and prosecutors claimed her case was weakened by lies she told about her background.
"I want justice," Diallo told ABC's "Good Morning America" anchor Robin Roberts in an interview to air this morning. "I want him [Strauss-Kahn] to know that there is some places you cannot use your money, you cannot use your power when you do something like this."
Diallo said she and her 15-year-old daughter have been living for weeks in protective custody as Manhattan prosecutors investigate the May 14 incident at the Sofitel Hotel in midtown.
Strauss-Kahn, the one-time head of the International Monetary Fund, was freed from house arrest July 1 after prosecutors admitted his accuser had lied about details of her personal life.
Prosecutors said the victim's credibility was undermined when they found out she fraudulently claimed two children on her tax returns and understated her income to get cheap housing. They also found she lied on her application for asylum and associated with a convicted drug dealer, who used her bank accounts to launder money.
"He was my friend that I trust - that I used to trust," she said of the imprisoned marijuana dealer. Prosecutors said Diallo and the jailed man discussed the Strauss-Kahn case in a telephone conversation that was tape-recorded.
Diallo said she's made "mistakes" in the past, but insisted her account of being assaulted by a naked Strauss-Kahn when she went to clean is room is accurate.
"God is my witness I'm telling the truth," she told Roberts. "From my heart, God knows that. And he \[Strauss-Kahn\] knows that.
"I never want to be in the public but I have no choice," she added. "Now, I have to be in public. I have to, for myself. I have to tell the truth."
Dominique Strauss-Kahn is the former head of the IMF. (John Minchillo/AP)
The Guinean immigrant recalled the attack in Room 2806 of the hotel, saying she thought the suite was empty when she went to clean it. She said she announced "Hello, housekeeping" several times as she entered the room.
"Oh, my God. I'm so sorry," she said she told Strauss-Kahn when he appeared before her naked.
"You don't have to be sorry," she claimed Strauss-Kahn told her.
She said the Frenchman turned into "a crazy man," grabbing her breasts, telling her 'You're beautiful' and slamming the door to the suite shut, according to the Newsweek article.
"I said, 'Sir, stop this. I don't want to lose my job,' " she said. "He said, 'You're not going to lose your job.' I don't look at him. I was afraid."
She said he pulled her to the bed and tried to put his penis in her mouth, but she resisted and pushed him.
Diallo said he dragged her into the bathroom and onto her knees, grabbing her by the head and forcing her to give him oral sex.
When he was through, she told Newsweek, "I got up. I was spitting. I run. I run out of there. I didn't turn back. I run to the hallway. I was so nervous; I was so scared. I didn't want to lose my job."
Strauss-Kahn's lawyers, William Taylor and Benjamin Brafman, released a statement last night calling Diallo's interviews an "unseemly circus."
"It's obvious purpose is to inflame public opinion against the defendant in a pending criminal case," the defense attorneys said.
Manhattan prosecutors deciding whether to move forward with the case refused to comment.
"To protect the integrity of the criminal justice system, the rights of the victim and the rights of the accused, we will not discuss the facts or evidence in what remains and ongoing investigation," said Erin Duggan, spokeswoman for Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr.
With Melissa Grace
see news video on bottom of page link
Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local...ssault_insists_she_is_tell.html#ixzz1T84bKtCb
The Manhattan maid who has accused Dominique Strauss-Kahn of sexually assaulting her insists she's telling the truth and wants the powerful Frenchman to "go to jail."
Nafissatou Diallo broke her silence in dueling interviews with ABC News and Newsweek magazine, saying she initially feared her life was in jeopardy for making the stunning allegations.
"I watched Channel 7 and they say this guy - I don't know - and he is going to be the next president of France. And I think, they are going to kill me," the 32-year-old Bronx mother told Newsweek.
Diallo said she's speaking out publicly to repair her reputation after the New York Post branded her "a prostitute" and prosecutors claimed her case was weakened by lies she told about her background.
"I want justice," Diallo told ABC's "Good Morning America" anchor Robin Roberts in an interview to air this morning. "I want him [Strauss-Kahn] to know that there is some places you cannot use your money, you cannot use your power when you do something like this."
Diallo said she and her 15-year-old daughter have been living for weeks in protective custody as Manhattan prosecutors investigate the May 14 incident at the Sofitel Hotel in midtown.
Strauss-Kahn, the one-time head of the International Monetary Fund, was freed from house arrest July 1 after prosecutors admitted his accuser had lied about details of her personal life.
Prosecutors said the victim's credibility was undermined when they found out she fraudulently claimed two children on her tax returns and understated her income to get cheap housing. They also found she lied on her application for asylum and associated with a convicted drug dealer, who used her bank accounts to launder money.
"He was my friend that I trust - that I used to trust," she said of the imprisoned marijuana dealer. Prosecutors said Diallo and the jailed man discussed the Strauss-Kahn case in a telephone conversation that was tape-recorded.
Diallo said she's made "mistakes" in the past, but insisted her account of being assaulted by a naked Strauss-Kahn when she went to clean is room is accurate.
"God is my witness I'm telling the truth," she told Roberts. "From my heart, God knows that. And he \[Strauss-Kahn\] knows that.
"I never want to be in the public but I have no choice," she added. "Now, I have to be in public. I have to, for myself. I have to tell the truth."
Dominique Strauss-Kahn is the former head of the IMF. (John Minchillo/AP)
The Guinean immigrant recalled the attack in Room 2806 of the hotel, saying she thought the suite was empty when she went to clean it. She said she announced "Hello, housekeeping" several times as she entered the room.
"Oh, my God. I'm so sorry," she said she told Strauss-Kahn when he appeared before her naked.
"You don't have to be sorry," she claimed Strauss-Kahn told her.
She said the Frenchman turned into "a crazy man," grabbing her breasts, telling her 'You're beautiful' and slamming the door to the suite shut, according to the Newsweek article.
"I said, 'Sir, stop this. I don't want to lose my job,' " she said. "He said, 'You're not going to lose your job.' I don't look at him. I was afraid."
She said he pulled her to the bed and tried to put his penis in her mouth, but she resisted and pushed him.
Diallo said he dragged her into the bathroom and onto her knees, grabbing her by the head and forcing her to give him oral sex.
When he was through, she told Newsweek, "I got up. I was spitting. I run. I run out of there. I didn't turn back. I run to the hallway. I was so nervous; I was so scared. I didn't want to lose my job."
Strauss-Kahn's lawyers, William Taylor and Benjamin Brafman, released a statement last night calling Diallo's interviews an "unseemly circus."
"It's obvious purpose is to inflame public opinion against the defendant in a pending criminal case," the defense attorneys said.
Manhattan prosecutors deciding whether to move forward with the case refused to comment.
"To protect the integrity of the criminal justice system, the rights of the victim and the rights of the accused, we will not discuss the facts or evidence in what remains and ongoing investigation," said Erin Duggan, spokeswoman for Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr.
With Melissa Grace
see news video on bottom of page link
Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local...ssault_insists_she_is_tell.html#ixzz1T84bKtCb
