Strauss-Kahn cleared of pimping charges

Former International Monetary Fund chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn was cleared of pimping charges in France, putting an end to four years of legal drama that began with a sexual assault charge in a New York hotel room.

Strauss-Kahn’s trial on aggravated pimping charges in the northern city of Lille hinged on sex parties that took place in the midst of the global financial crisis.

Strauss-Kahn had told the court the parties were much-needed “recreational sessions” at a time of intense pressure to steer the world through economic peril, and he did not know the women who took part were prostitutes.