Benzema's lawyer confident new evidence clears him

PARIS (AP):

Karim Benzema's lawyer is confident that preliminary charges will be dropped against his client after the revelation of new evidence in favour of the Real Madrid striker.

Sylvain Cormer, Benzema's lawyer, said the player's former girlfriend was with Benzema on the evening he allegedly solicited an underage prostitute.

"This witness is serious and what (she) says is verifiable. I have asked that (she) be heard as quickly as possible by the investigating magistrate," French newspaper Le Parisien. "The goal being to obtain a rapid dismissal after the necessary verifications by the magistrate."

Last week, a French judge issued preliminary charges against Benzema and his France teammate Franck Ribery for allegedly soliciting an underage prostitute, Zahia Deharm. The move came after a probe into a suspected network of prostitutes operating out of a nightclub on Paris' Champs-Elysees.

Dehar, now 18, says she had been paid for sex since she was 16. She claims she met Benzema at the nightclub on the night he won the French Player of the Season award, in May 2008, and that Benzema paid her for sex.

Cormier says the testimony from Benzema's ex-girlfriend, who was not named, will disprove Dehar's allegations.

"Her statement is very precise. She confirms that she spent the evening with Karim, and especially gives many details on the location and the people present that evening," Cormier told Le Parisien. "This contradicts Zahia's assertions."

Prostitution is legal in France, but prostitutes must be over 18.

Benzema and the Bayern Munich winger Ribery could face up to three years in prison and a euro 45,000 ($60,000) fine, if convicted of paying to have sex with a minor.

The scandal broke before the World Cup and has been front-page news in France. Dehar also alleges Ribery, as a birthday present to himself, flew her to visit him when she was still under 18.

Ribery is married with two children and denies any wrongdoing.

Ribery and Benzema were released after French investigating magistrate Andre Dando handed them preliminary charges, which give officials time to pursue a probe before deciding whether to send suspects for trial or drop the case.