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Egyptian executive pleads guilty to sexually abusing hotel maid

From Jesse Solomon, CNN
Mahmoud Abdel-Salam Omar, shown in an artist's rendering at an earlier court date, also faces a lawsuit.
Mahmoud Abdel-Salam Omar, shown in an artist's rendering at an earlier court date, also faces a lawsuit.
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
  • Mahmoud Abdel-Salam Omar was sentenced to five days' community service
  • He's already completed that service
  • He must also submit his DNA to the state database
  • The incident occurred soon after Dominique Strauss-Kahn was accused
RELATED TOPICS
  • Sexual Offenses
  • Manhattan
  • Crime

New York (CNN) -- An Egyptian executive accused of sexually abusing an employee at a luxury hotel in New York pleaded guilty Friday to sex abuse in the third degree and will also face a $5 million lawsuit tied to the case, his attorney said.

Mahmoud Abdel-Salam Omar, 74, the chairman of a salt company who once headed an Egyptian bank, had originally been charged with sexual abuse, unlawful imprisonment, forcible touching and harassment.

He was sentenced to five days' community service, which Omar has already completed. He must also submit his DNA to the state database, said Joan Vollero, a representative for the Manhattan district attorney.

"He pled guilty in order to get back to his family in Egypt," said Omar's attorney, Lori Cohen. "What he pled guilty to is less serious than jumping a turnstile in New York."

Omar had initially pleaded not guilty, attorney Lori Cohen said.

The incident took place at New York's Pierre hotel on May 29, 15 days after Dominique Strauss-Kahn, then head of the International Monetary Fund, was accused of sexually assaulting and trying to rape a housekeeping employee at another New York luxury hotel.

Omar has not made any public statements. The accuser told police the attack took place when the employee went to Omar's room to drop off tissues he had requested.

His trial had been set to begin August 23.