DSK rape case now in doubt

What if the accuser isn't telling the truth?

That troubling possibility has now elbowed its way into the Dominique Strauss-Kahn case. He, of course, is the former IMF chief and almost-candidate for president of France who's been charged with sexually assaulting a housekeeper in his Manhattan hotel suite.

The case against Strauss-Kahn was looking open-and-shut.

But on Friday, Manhattan prosecutors conceded that the woman making the accusation has made several claims that now seem questionable. They say she lied about how quickly she reported the incident. They say she lied on an immigration form about various abominations in her native Guinea.

Strauss-Kahn still faces charges here. They haven't been dropped or even reduced. Yet. But prosecutors agreed to his release from house arrest without bail, conceding that their case looks weaker.

We may never know what happened inside Suite 2806 at the Sofitel. The two people who do know have very different versions. And science can't resolve one key dispute: Was the sex between them voluntary or forced? Like many sex-assault cases, this one is ultimately a matter of he-said-she-said. Could she still be a victim here? Yes, she could.

But given the accuser's spotty record of truth-telling, how are the jurors supposed to know? Even if they are inclined to believe her, they can hardly be certain now beyond a reasonable doubt.

In this contest of he-said-she-said, he is on his way to winning now.

DECLARE OUR INDEPENDENCE

1. From boorish relatives

2. From high-priced gas

3. From crying babies

3. From crowded highways

5. From back-to-work stress

ASKED AND UNANSWERED: Will Long Island's caterers, florists and limo drivers share in the spoils of New York State's gay-wedding boom, even though all the Island's senators voted no on legalizing gay marriage? . . . Does Joseph Simeone know the difference between "store" and "sell"? Nassau cops say the Glen Cove classic-car dealer sold a 1934 Ford Roadster, a 1936 Ford Phaeton and a 1939 Cabriolet -- without the owner's permission . . . Is the mystery in the David Laffer case becoming increasingly psychiatric? What possible rational reason did the Army vet have to allegedly kill those people in the drugstore? . . . If it weren't for Laffer, would anyone notice that the CVS in Farmingville was robbed last weekend? . . . The economy is bouncing back? Tell that to the 20 UTi workers just laid off in Melville -- and six at the Capital One branch in Mattituck . . . With Amityville Mayor Peter Imbert and four village trustees on horseback in Monday's Fourth of July Parade, what's the chance they all get home without a single embarrassing riding mishap? . . . Does this weekend's sky-high occupancy rate at LI campgrounds have anything to do with tightly trimmed family-vacation budgets? Are hotels as full? . . . Will Chris Cuddihy and his six-man Round Island Row crew ever try again? Their catamaran fundraiser for the Suffolk County United Veterans Project was foiled by high winds and a badly battered vessel. Email ellis@henican.com

Follow on twitter @henican