LILLE (Web Desk) – An ex-prostitute nicknamed “Jade” took the stand in a French trial over a high-end prostitution ring that landed former International Monetary Fund chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn in court on charges of pimping.
The first part of the multi-faceted trial with 14 accused is focused on a prostitution ring allegedly run by the owners and a publicist for the luxury Carlton hotel in the northern city of Lille.
It was during a probe into the so-called “Carlton Affair” that investigators stumbled across the name of Strauss-Kahn, whose high-flying career and presidential prospects imploded when a New York hotel maid accused him of sexual assault in 2011.
Strauss-Kahn will not appear until he testifies next week, and witnesses are not allowed to refer to those not present, but the now-retired prostitute Jade made references to “a public figure” she met through the “Carlton” vice ring.
