DNA taken from former International Monetary Fund leaderDominique Strauss-Kahn matches material on the uniform of a hotelmaid who says he sexually assaulted her, two people familiar withthe investigation told The Associated Press.
The two people would not describe the material found on theshirt but said DNA matched a sample from Strauss-Kahn, whosubmitted to testing after his arrest more than a week ago. Hedenies the maid's allegations.
Testing was being performed on other items, said the two people,who were not authorized to speak publicly about the matter andspoke to the AP on Monday on condition of anonymity.
During their investigation, authorities cut out a piece ofcarpet and swabbed sinks and other surfaces in his hotel room.Investigators told the AP they believed the carpet in the hotelroom may contain Strauss-Kahn's semen, spat out after an episode offorced oral sex by the maid.
The forensic evidence is the first to link Strauss-Kahn to thewoman _ and it's also on track with what his lawyers have suggestedwould be his defense.
Strauss-Kahn's attorney Benjamin Brafman declined to comment onMonday. At a court hearing last week, he told a judge that forensicevidence developed in the investigation "will not be consistentwith a forcible encounter" _ leading to speculation thatStrauss-Kahn's defense would argue that it was consensual.
New York Police Department spokesman Paul J. Browne and theManhattan district attorney's office wouldn't comment.
The one-time French presidential contender has been charged witha criminal sex act, attempted rape and sexual abuse and is free on$1 million bail, under house arrest at a lower Manhattan apartment.He's been accused of attacking the 32-year-old West Africanimmigrant on May 14 in his luxury suite at the Sofitel hotel nearManhattan's Times Square. His lawyers say he's innocent.
Staff at the Sofitel told authorities that the 62-year-oldStrauss-Kahn had made passes at them the day before the attack wasreported, including flirting with a clerk and calling anotheremployee to ask her up to his room, according to a third personwith direct knowledge of investigators' interviews with staff.
Strauss-Kahn had flirted with one female staff member whoaccompanied him to his suite to make sure his accommodations weresatisfactory after he checked in on May 13, the person said. Later,he phoned the desk clerk who had checked him in, asking her if shewould like to get together with him when she got off duty, theperson said. The desk clerk refused, saying she was not allowed tosocialize with the VIP guest, the person said.
That person also wasn't authorized to speak publicly and spoketo the AP on condition of anonymity.
On Monday, lawyers for Strauss-Kahn continued to search for newhousing for their client as he awaits trial. His bail agreement hita snag late last week after tenants at the Upper East Sideapartment building chosen for his house arrest refused to allowhim, citing unwanted media attention.
Strauss-Kahn has been staying at a temporary location underwatch by armed guards with Stroz Friedberg, the same company thatguarded disgraced financier Bernard Madoff. It wasn't clear when hewould be moved. French and U.S. media have been staking out thebuilding where Strauss-Kahn spent the weekend after he was releasedfrom his Rikers Island jail cell.
He resigned last Wednesday from the IMF.
His attorneys have described Strauss-Kahn as a loving father andfamily man. They say his actions after the attack was reported arenot those of a guilty man eager for a quick escape. He left thehotel, had lunch and then phoned later to ask if he'd left anythingbehind. When hotel staff said he had left his cellphone, he toldthem exactly where he was: at John F. Kennedy International Airporton a flight bound for Paris. Authorities pulled him from thejetliner.
Associated Press writer Tom Hays contributed to this report.
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