Maid Speaks Out for First Time About Strauss-Kahn
Nafissatou Diallo, a hotel maid who is accusing former International Monetary Chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn of sexual assault, is finally telling the world her story after two months of silence.
In an interview with ABC’s Robin Roberts, the Sofitel Hotel maid revealed her name and face to the public for the first time and recounted her story with Strauss-Kahn.
The lengthy, tear-filled interview narrated an account of the night where she claims Strauss-Kahn forcefully engaged her in sexual acts. According to the 32-hotel maid’s story, the former IMF chief called her "beautiful" before he grabbed her.
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Strauss-Kahn was naked in when she came in to clean his hotel room in New York City, said Diallo.
"Oh, my God, I’m so sorry," Diallo recalled saying when she first entered the room.
“You’re beautiful,” Strauss-Kahn responded while attempting to touch her inappropriately, according to the maid. “You don’t have to be sorry.”
Diallo then said, "'Stop! Stop! I don't want to lose my job.'"
During the interview, Diallo also animatedly re-enacted the alleged sexual assault.
Although the hotel maid told authorities much of the same story, one element seemed to be left out of initial account of the story, according to The New York Times. Directly after the attack, Diallo told hospital counselors that Strauss-Kahn had never uttered a word to her.
Strauss-Kahn has pleaded not guilty to the sexual assault charges and is currently under house arrest. His lawyers claim the encounter was consensual.
In response to the Diallo's interview, Strauss-Kahn’s attorneys have called the maid's public tell-all an "unseemly circus."
"Its obvious purpose is to inflame public opinion against a defendant in a pending criminal case," Strauss-Kahn’s representatives wrote in a statement.
Diallo said initially did not know who Strauss-Kahn was but became afraid after discovering his identity on May 14, the day of his arrest.
"Then they [said] he's going to be the next president of France," she told Roberts. "And I [said], oh my God! And I was crying. I said, 'they're gonna kill me.'"
Diallo said she hopes her story will help send Strauss-Kahn to jail.
"I want justice. I want him to go to jail," Nafissatou Diallo said in the ABC interview. "I want him to know that there is some places you cannot use your money, you cannot use your power when you do something like this."
