Dominique Strauss-Kahn stays away as sex case is settled

WHEN a settlement ended the last legal fallout from the sexual assault allegation that sank his political career, Dominique Strauss-Kahn kept his distance.

The former International Monetary Fund leader, once seen as a promising French presidential candidate, stayed in Paris and did not comment when a New York judge announced the settlement on Monday.

But his accuser, hotel housekeeper Nafissatou Diallo, spoke out publicly - one of few times she had done so. Standing outside the courthouse, she thanked God and "everyone who supported me all over the world".

The settlement - its detail sealed - was made after prosecutors dropped related criminal charges last year, saying Diallo had credibility problems.

For her, the deal means she "can move on with her life", said one of her lawyers, Kenneth Thompson.

For Strauss-Kahn, it closes another of a number of sexual allegations that have confronted him since Diallo told police in May last year that he had attacked her.

He is still fighting charges of aggravated pimping in France.

Strauss-Kahn attorneys William Taylor III and Amit Mehta said the former diplomat was "pleased to have arrived at a resolution" of the New York suit.

Diallo, a 33-year-old housekeeper from Guinea, told police Strauss-Kahn, 63, forced her to perform oral sex, tried to rape her and tore a ligament in her shoulder after she arrived to clean his luxury hotel suite.

Strauss-Kahn, who has since separated from his wife, has said what happened was "a moral failing" but was consensual.

The allegations spurred his arrest, forced him to resign his IMF post and cut off his potential candidacy for the French presidency.

The criminal case was dropped after prosecutors said they could not trust Diallo. Among their concerns: she was inconsistent about her actions right after leaving Strauss-Kahn's suite, and she lied about having been raped before.

Bronx state Supreme Court Justice Douglas McKeon said he met Diallo earlier this year and talked about the prospect of a settlement. A final deal was signed on Monday, McKeon said.

The judge said Diallo also settled a separate libel lawsuit against the New York Post over a series of articles that claimed she was a prostitute.