IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn, charged with sexually assaulting maid in NYC hotel, is denied bail
BY Katie Nelson, Alison Gendar and Lukas I. Alpert
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITERS
Originally Published:Monday, May 16th 2011, 12:50 PM
Updated: Monday, May 16th 2011, 2:19 PM
/http%3A%2F%2Fassets.nydailynews.com%2Fimg%2F2011%2F05%2F17%2Falg_dominique_strauss_kahn2.jpg "International Monetary Fund leader Dominique Strauss-Kahn, center, is brought into the Municipal Court, Monday.")
Jefferson Siegel for News
International Monetary Fund leader Dominique Strauss-Kahn, center, is brought into the Municipal Court, Monday.
A powerful French politician was held without bail Monday after being hauled before a Manhattan judge on charges of sexually assaulting a hotel chambermaid.
Judge Melissa Jackson ordered International Monetary Fund chief and leading French presidential candidate Dominique Strauss-Kahn to remain in custody until a May 20 hearing.
Prosecutors argued that the allegations against Strauss-Kahn were too alarming for him to go free and that his international ties make him a flight risk.
"The victim provides a very powerful and detailed account," said Assistant District Attorney John McConnell. "He has almost no incentive to stay in this country and almost every resource to leave it."
Strauss-Kahn faces up to 25 years in prison if convicted of attempted rape, criminal sexual act and unlawful imprisonment.
Defense lawyers say their client strenuously denies the charges against him.
"We are obviously disappointed by the court's decision," attorney Benjamin Brafman said. "This battle has just begun. We believe that we'll prove in our judgment that Mr. Strauss Kahn is innocent of these charges"
Dressed in a black overcoat and buttoned-up shirt, the VIP maker of global economic policy was forced to sit like a common criminal with other defendants.
The room was packed with international reporters - and even a smattering of gawking French tourists. Extra security was brought in the control the overflow crowd.
Strauss-Kahn's lawyers asked for $1 million bond, arguing that he has strong ties to the U.S. with a home in Washington and a daughter who lives in New York.
"The defendant has an interest to clear his name," said his lawyer Benjamin Brafman, arguing that Strauss-Kahn would remain in New York.
"Life before the arrest will not be the same as after the arrest."
Brafman said Strauss-Kahn's New York-born wife Anne Sinclair, was on her way to the city.
Jackson cut off prosecutors when they tried to raise the case of film director Roman Polanski - who fled the U.S. to France to evade prosecution - but ruled in their favor anyway.
Strauss-Kahn was arrested Saturday after a Sofitel hotel maid said he ran at her in the nude and forced her to perform oral sex.
"He grabbed the victim's chest without consent, attempted to remove her pantyhose, and forcibly grabbed the victim's vaginal area," prosecutors said in a statement.
"His penis made contact with the victim's mouth twice through the use of force."
The 62-year-old lothario - dubbed the "Great Seducer," and "Hot Rabbit" - was pulled off an Air France flight at Kennedy Airport hours later as he tried to leave the country.
His lawyers said the flight had been booked prior to the alleged incident.
The accuser later picked Strauss-Kahn out of a line-up and he was forced to give DNA samples to investigators.
Sources say that neither Strauss-Kahn nor the 32-year-old victim had scratches or bruises. DNA samples have been sent to the lab and results could take three to seven days to come back.
Investigators say there are no video cameras on the floor where Strauss-Kahn's $3,000-a-night suite was located, but that the woman appeared disheveled and upset when she told co-workers about the encounter.
Contrary to earlier reports, sources say Strauss-Kahn did not leave his cell phone at the hotel. The banking big-wig carries two and had misplaced one when he went to the airport.
He did call the hotel to see if he left it there, which tipped cops off to the fact that he was about to board a flight.
Investigators are seeking warrants for his phone records, sources said.
A Socialist Party heavyweight, Strauss-Kahn had been a leading candidate to become France's next president, but his arrest has likely derailed his chances.
The IMF has already appointed his deputy to take temporary control of the body.
A French writer who says Strauss-Kahn tried to force himself upon her during a 2002 interview, but chose not to pursue charges under pressure said Monday that she plans to file a lawsuit.
With Henrick Karoliszyn
Jugdes denies Straus-Kahn bail
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