The legal saga of Nafissatou Diallo, the hotel maid who is accusing former IMF head Dominique Strauss-Kahn of a violent sexual assault, continues. Today, the Wall Street Journal and Daily Beast published articles reporting that Diallo's lawyer was seeking a financial settlement with Strauss-Kahn's lawyers. more ›

The man arrested for allegedly breaking into an Upper East Side apartment and raping a 27-year-old woman inside early Saturday morning claims it wasn't illegal. Specifically, Assistant District Attorney Samuel David said yesterday, "The defendant made a series of statements that he went through the window of the apartment and took the victim's phone, so she'd be unable to call the police, and had sex with the victim -- although he disturbingly claims it was consensual." more ›

A 20-year-old Connecticut babysitter has been charged with sexual assault after allegedly having sex with a 14-year-old boy. Loni Bouchard was booked on July 12 after an investigation that lasted three months, for second degree sexual assault, risk of injury to a minor, and illegal purchase of liquor, ABC reports. Police believe that Bouchard plied the boy with alcohol. Bouchard was charged a second time with sexual assault on July 29 in another incident with a teenage boy, but it's unclear if it was the same child. more ›

After the Manhattan DA's office asked if anyone had information about a man accused of raping a woman in Riverside Park, at least 10 more women have come forward. This is an addition to three other incidents of allegedly trespassing and harassing women. A source tells the Daily News, "Women are calling every day, saying he stalked or harassed or in several other cases, attacked them. This was his real profession - harassing women." In fact, a Gothamist reader thanked us for posting the Manhattan DA's office contact information, because she said she had a scary run-in with Akassy, too. more ›

An Australian businessman accused of attempting to rape a maid at the Standard Hotel last year was found not guilty by a jury in Manhattan Supreme Court yesterday. According to the unidentified maid, Matthew Moorhouse, who was formerly involved with Australian pop star Rani Kamahl, had hit on her as she cleaned the room, then threw her on the bed and tried to force himself upon her. She claimed her screams were heard by another hotel worker, who intervened. more ›

A lawyer for one of the five suspects arrested for the alleged gang rape of a 7-year-old is skeptical of the Trenton police's claim. Robin Lord, whose client Gregory Leary is being held on $500,000 bail, said, "She was not raped, was not gang-raped. I'm 100 percent certain that the 7-year-old was not sexually assaulted. The allegations will not be substantiated by any forensic evidence." However, the Star-Ledger reports, "Police say there is DNA evidence of the crime," and local officials have been vocal in discussing the crime—Trenton mayor Doug Palmer said last week, "We're not finished. Because everyone who's responsible has not been arrested." Lord's mother also told reporters, "My son is a loving child and could never hurt anyone. I feel terrible about my child and anyone else's who is involved in this." more ›

Nearly a week after an 18-year-old Hofstra student claimed that five men raped her in a dormitory bathroom—only to later admit the story was fake—the freshman may face charges for her lies, which put four of the "suspects" behind bars for two days. more ›

State Senator Hiram Monserrate, who faces three felony charges related to allegations that he slashed his girlfriend's face last year, will now receive a bench trial, instead of a jury trial; jury selection was supposed begin today. Monserrate, who is a freshman Senator and who was part of the coup in Albany earlier this summer, has maintained his innocence, that a glass fell and accidentally ended up cutting girlfriend Karla Giraldo on the face. Giraldo also says it was an accident (though some hospital workers claim she indicted Monserrate may have acted purposefully)—the scar required 20 stitches to close. The NY Times notes that court documents say "Video cameras at the Jackson Heights building where Mr. Monserrate lives captured scenes of a violent confrontation between the couple." Monserrate's lawyer suggests that the video was spliced together in a damning fashion and says that Monserrate was actually trying to make Giraldo go to the hospital. Queens DA Richard Brown is confident in his office's case, "We have become leaders in successfully prosecuting domestic violence cases without the cooperation of the victim, who is so often reluctant — or fearful — to testify against her accuser." more ›

A 27-year-old female social studies teacher at M.S. 8 in Jamaica, Queens was arrested for allegedly conducting a sexual relationship with a 14-year-old male student—in her second floor classroom. Melissa Weber was charged with statutory rape, sexual abuse and endangering the welfare of a child; prosecutors claim she told the boy, a student in one of her classes, "Don’t tell anyone. I could get arrested and I could lose my teaching license." more ›

The NYPD has stripped two police officers of their badges and guns and put on modified duty as they investigate an accusation that a police officer raped an East Village resident. The Daily News reports, "The officer and his partner came to the woman after a cab driver called 911 on Dec. 7, telling cops she had vomited in his car and couldn't find cab fare." The officers apparently escorted the woman home. more ›

A little scoop from the Post about the business card that State Senator-elect Hiram Monserrate and girlfriend Karla Giraldo allegedly fought about, culminating in her getting a black eye and a gash on her face and him being arrested. Monserrate "believed the business card he spotted in her bag belonged to an ex-boyfriend," sources tell the Post. Investigators not only "found the card at the bottom of the garbage chute in Monserrate's...apartment building after he was caught on surveillance video trying to toss her bag in the trash," but the video also allegedly shows Giraldo "running screaming down the hallway holding a towel to her bleeding face and pounding on neighbors' doors for help." While the Queens DA's office has charged Monserrate with assault, Giraldo is not cooperating with them or the NYPD and her relatives have reiterated Monserrate's claim that it was just an accident that he tripped and fell into Giraldo while holding a broken glass. more ›

The drama over whether State Senator-elect Hiram Monserrate assaulted his girlfriend continues! Monserrate, arrested after allegedly hitting Karla Giraldo with a broken glass (she had a black eye and a gash requiring 20 stitches), said the incident was a terrible accident; his supporters have reportedly said he was upset about drugs found in Giraldo's purse, hence their fight. more ›

Supporters are trying to spin an explanation for State Senator-elect Hiram Monserrate's alleged assault of his girlfriend. The Daily News reports, "Sources say Monserrate backers have told people the outgoing city councilman was upset to discover drugs in girlfriend Karla Giraldo's purse after they attended the Queens Democratic Party's holiday dinner on Thursday." more ›