Egyptian Businessman Mahmoud Abdel Salam Omar Pleads Guilty In Pierre Hotel Sex Assault

Mahmoud Abdel Salam Omar pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor sexual abuse charge, acknowledging he kissed the woman on the lips and neck and touched her breasts after she brought tissues to his room at the posh hotel.

The 74-year-old chairman of state-run salt production firm El-Mex Salines Co. already has completed five days of community service in a soup kitchen, and his case will be closed without jail time or probation if he stays out of trouble for a year.

After softly answering “yes” in English to questions from a judge and prosecutor, Omar declined to comment as he left the Manhattan courthouse. Arrested while in New York to pick up a salt-industry award for El-Mex Salines, he spent about four days behind bars before being released on bail earlier this month.

His lawyer, Lori Cohen, called the case the result of a “big miscommunication” between the 44-year-old maid and Omar. While he acknowledged in court that he knew he didn’t have the woman’s consent for his advances, Cohen said he thought the housekeeper was receptive.

“I believe he thought something was happening that wasn’t,” she said. “I think his lack of a great understanding of English, and her desire to file a multimillion-dollar lawsuit, led to these accusations.”