IMF chief refused bail on hotel sex attack charges
Source: Agencies |
May 17, 2011, Tuesday
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Print Edition
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Dominique Strauss-Kahn, head of the International Monetary Fund, appeared in court yesterday for the first time since he was accused of trying to rape a hotel maid in a case that sent shockwaves through French politics and left the IMF in turmoil.
A handcuffed and drained Strauss-Kahn, whose hopes of becoming France's next president appear to have been wrecked, faced a barrage of cameras when he was escorted to the booking station at Manhattan Criminal Court on Sunday night.
His lawyers said he would plead not guilty to charges of a criminal sexual act, attempted rape and unlawful imprisonment that could bring a humiliating end to his public career and political ambitions.
"Our client willingly consented to a scientific and forensic examination," said William Taylor, Strauss-Kahn's Washington-based lawyer. "He's tired but he's fine."
Any restriction the judge places on Strauss-Kahn's freedom of movement after the arraignment hearing may determine whether he is able to continue in his role as managing director of the IMF.
His arrest on Saturday plunged the Washington-based global lender into disarray in the midst of the eurozone's debt crisis.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who Strauss-Kahn had been due to meet on Sunday, said finding a successor for the Frenchman was "not a question for today," but there were good grounds to have a European candidate ready.
A police spokesman said the 32-year-old chambermaid at the Times Square Sofitel had identified Strauss-Kahn from a lineup that included five other men.
The IMF chief has retained Michael Jackson's former star defence lawyer Benjamin Brafman to lead his legal team.
The IMF, which said Strauss-Kahn had been in New York on private business, named John Lipsky as acting managing director.
Police said the maid had described how the IMF chief, naked, sprang on her from the bathroom of his hotel suite, chased her down a hall, pulled her into a bedroom and assaulted her. She told police she broke free but that he dragged her into the bathroom where he forced himself on her again.
The woman, who has not been named, was treated for minor injuries. She had worked at the hotel for three years and the manager said she had been a "completely satisfactory" employee.
Strauss-Kahn's wife, French television personality Anne Sinclair, jumped to her husband's defence, saying she did not believe the accusations "for a single second."
Police say Strauss-Kahn left his US$3,000-a-day suite in such a rush he left his mobile phone behind. But a French tourist who said she saw him check out told France 2 television he had appeared calm and in no hurry.
After he called the hotel from John F. Kennedy airport asking about his phone, police located him in the first-class section of an Air France flight bound for Paris.
Strauss-Kahn's character has been questioned before. In 2008, he apologized for "an error of judgment" after an affair with a female IMF economist. The IMF board warned him against improper conduct, but cleared him of harassment and abuse of power and kept him in his job. It will now face scrutiny over that response.
A handcuffed and drained Strauss-Kahn, whose hopes of becoming France's next president appear to have been wrecked, faced a barrage of cameras when he was escorted to the booking station at Manhattan Criminal Court on Sunday night.
His lawyers said he would plead not guilty to charges of a criminal sexual act, attempted rape and unlawful imprisonment that could bring a humiliating end to his public career and political ambitions.
"Our client willingly consented to a scientific and forensic examination," said William Taylor, Strauss-Kahn's Washington-based lawyer. "He's tired but he's fine."
Any restriction the judge places on Strauss-Kahn's freedom of movement after the arraignment hearing may determine whether he is able to continue in his role as managing director of the IMF.
His arrest on Saturday plunged the Washington-based global lender into disarray in the midst of the eurozone's debt crisis.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who Strauss-Kahn had been due to meet on Sunday, said finding a successor for the Frenchman was "not a question for today," but there were good grounds to have a European candidate ready.
A police spokesman said the 32-year-old chambermaid at the Times Square Sofitel had identified Strauss-Kahn from a lineup that included five other men.
The IMF chief has retained Michael Jackson's former star defence lawyer Benjamin Brafman to lead his legal team.
The IMF, which said Strauss-Kahn had been in New York on private business, named John Lipsky as acting managing director.
Police said the maid had described how the IMF chief, naked, sprang on her from the bathroom of his hotel suite, chased her down a hall, pulled her into a bedroom and assaulted her. She told police she broke free but that he dragged her into the bathroom where he forced himself on her again.
The woman, who has not been named, was treated for minor injuries. She had worked at the hotel for three years and the manager said she had been a "completely satisfactory" employee.
Strauss-Kahn's wife, French television personality Anne Sinclair, jumped to her husband's defence, saying she did not believe the accusations "for a single second."
Police say Strauss-Kahn left his US$3,000-a-day suite in such a rush he left his mobile phone behind. But a French tourist who said she saw him check out told France 2 television he had appeared calm and in no hurry.
After he called the hotel from John F. Kennedy airport asking about his phone, police located him in the first-class section of an Air France flight bound for Paris.
Strauss-Kahn's character has been questioned before. In 2008, he apologized for "an error of judgment" after an affair with a female IMF economist. The IMF board warned him against improper conduct, but cleared him of harassment and abuse of power and kept him in his job. It will now face scrutiny over that response.
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