Charges Against Dominique Strauss-Kahn Dismissed

Former International Monetary Fund Chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn is a free man today after a judge dismissed the charges of sexual assault against him. INSIDE EDITION reports from the courthouse.

Case closed. A judge dismisses sexual assault charges against the former head of the International Monetary Fund.

"It's over," says Dominique Strauss-Kahn's defense attorney after a dramatic hearing in a Manhattan courtroom.

Stauss-Kahn's attorney Benjamin Brafman said to reporters outside the courtroom, "It is impossible for you to understand or grasp the full measure of relief that Dominique Strauss-Kahn feels today."

But there were angry protests outside the court.

"We are outraged that Cyrus Vance, the Manhattan District Attorney, has chosen to derail this case," said Noel Leader of 100 Blacks in Law Enforcement Who Care.

With emotions running high, security was tight at the courthouse in New York City. Police barricades were brought in to restrict public access to the area and hold back protestors. A private security firm was on hand along with dozens of uniformed officers, all in an effort to ensure the safety of Dominique Strauss-Kahn.

Strauss-Kahn arrived to a chorus of boos with his wife, American heiress Anne Sinclair, by his side.

Prosecutors say evidence shows there was a sexual encounter between Strauss-Kahn and a maid at a Manhattan hotel, but a rape could not be proved. They asked the judge to dismiss the charges because the alleged victim, Nafissatou Diallo, repeatedly lied to investigators about her life and background.

After she was confronted with one lie, prosecutors say in court documents, "she dropped to the floor and physically rolled around while weeping."

But her attorney says she stands by her story that she was sexually assaulted by the super-rich French politician.

Diallo's attorney Kenneth P. Thompson said, "If Dominique Strauss-Kahn was a plummer from the Bay Ridge section of Brooklyn, do you really think that the District Attorney would be running away from DNA evidence?"

Strauss-Kahn returned to a luxury Manhattan townhouse where he's been living and says this is the end of a terrible and unfair ordeal.