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Dominique Strauss-Kahn released on his own recognizance
Former IMF Chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn arrives in court July 1, 2011 in New York City.
/ WCBS(CBS/WCBS/AP) NEW YORK - A judge has agreed to release Dominique Strauss-Kahn without bail on his own recognizance Friday in his sexual assault case.
The agreement approved by State Supreme Court Justice Michael Obus in Manhattan does not give Strauss-Kahn his passport back. The criminal case against him stands.
The decision represents a huge change in circumstances for the 62-year-old who was arrested for sexually assaulting a housekeeper in his suite at the Sofitel Hotel, a posh Times Square hotel, on May 14.
The agreement came following reports which cast doubt on the credibility of his accuser.
From the beginning, the defense has questioned the accuser's answers to many questions.
"The forensic evidence we believe will not be consistent with a forcible encounter," attorney Benjamin Brafman said on May 15, reports CBS affiliate WCBS.
Prosecutors are now beginning to believe the story may have been made up. Sources told the New York Times there are major holes in the woman's credibility and that the case may be "on the verge of collapse." The Times reports the native of Guinea lied on her asylum application and may have connections to drug dealing and money laundering.
Sources told the newspaper that while Strauss-Kahn was paraded before the cameras, the woman, who lives in an apartment in the Bronx, met with a prisoner friend at Rikers Island, and was recorded telling him the possible benefits of pursuing charges.
The Times reports of a recent deposit in her bank account, totaling $100,000.
"If this is true, if there are serious problems now with the alleged victim's credibility, those problems aren't likely to get better the closer the case goes to trial so I wouldn't be surprised at all, again if this is true, if prosecutors were thinking of backing away," said Andrew Cohen, CBS Radio News legal analyst.
The French economist and diplomat, once considered a candidate for his homeland's presidency, has been under armed guard in a $50,000-per-month Tribeca townhouse after posting a total of $6 million in cash bail and bond. He has denied allegations of trying to rape the hotel housekeeper when she went to clean his room.
Complete coverage of Dominique Strauss-Kahn on Crimesider
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