Case Against Ex-Diplomat Is Dismissed

Charges of sexual battery and false imprisonment against the former Guinean ambassador to the United States were dismissed Thursday after he had been relieved of his duties and returned to his native country.

The two misdemeanor counts were dismissed by Los Angeles Municipal Court Judge Thomas L. Willhite Jr. at the request of city prosecutors when the ambassador, Moussa Sangare, failed to appear in court. Sangare was recalled to his native country on Nov. 29 and is not expected to return to the United States, according to the State Department.

The case turned into a controversy when Los Angeles police twice refused requests by city prosecutors to conduct a follow-up investigation into the alleged sexual assault. Police said they declined to pursue the case because Sangare was protected by diplomatic immunity.

Prosecutors had charged that Sangare, 50, forcibly fondled the breasts of a maid at his room in the Biltmore Hotel on Sept. 4 while visiting Los Angeles as part of a West African trade delegation. The maid reported that she was accosted a second time by Sangare before fleeing the room and notifying hotel security.

Deputy City Atty. Dennis Jensen said the case was dismissed “in the interest of justice.” He said the State Department indicated that Sangare “was probably not going to come back to the United States, except possibly once to pick up his clothing.”

Had Sangare been convicted, he could have faced up to 18 months in jail and a $3,000 fine.

Sangare’s attorney in Los Angeles, Lawrence W. Chamblee, refused to comment on why his client was ordered to return to Guinea.

But Jensen said, “I would suspect that the reason he has been recalled by his country is this case, but I don’t know.”