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Head of the IMF Ordered Held Without Bail

By DNAinfo Staff on May 16, 2011 12:45pm  | Updated on May 16, 2011 2:57pm

By Shayna Jacobs and Nicole Bode

DNAinfo Staff

MANHATTAN CRIMINAL COURT — A judge ordered International Monetary Fund chief Dominique Strauss-Khan held without bail Monday on charges he sexually assaulted a maid in a Midtown hotel.

"This is the court's decision. I think he's a flight risk and I'm remanding him," Judge Melissa Jackson told Strauss-Khan's lawyers during a closely-monitored arraignment in Manhattan Criminal Court.

"When I hear that your client was at JFK airport about to board a flight, that raises some concerns," Jackson continued. "The same rules apply to your client as anyone else."

Strauss-Kahn shook his head and looked downcast as the judge announced her decision, and conferred with his attorney Benjamin Brafman before and after the brief court appearance Monday afternoon.

A media mob scene formed around the Manhattan Criminal Courthouse Monday in anticipation of Dominique Strauss-Kahn's arraignment Monday.
A media mob scene formed around the Manhattan Criminal Courthouse Monday in anticipation of Dominique Strauss-Kahn's arraignment Monday.
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DNAinfo/David Torres

He did not enter a plea as he was arraigned on charges of felony charges of criminal sexual act, attempted rape, attempted sexual abuse, and misdemeanor charges of unlawful imprisonment and forcible touching, among other charges.

He faces up to 25 years in prison if convicted on the top felony count alone, and could face additional prison time on the other charges.

Assistant District Attorney Artie McConnell asked the judge to deny Brafman's request to allow Strauss-Kahn $1 million bail, calling the French politician a "incurable flight risk."

"Millions of dollars would be a small price for him to pay for his freedom and the chance to avoid prosecution for his crime," McConnell said. "He has almost no incentive to stay in this country and every incentive and resource in which to leave it."

Prosecutors compared the case to that of filmmaker Roman Polanski, who fled the country after being accused of raping a 13-year-old girl.

McConnell said that Manhattan prosecutors can not even properly estimate how much Strauss-Kahn is worth because the international political figure could have accounts located across the globe.

McConnell said Strauss-Kahn attacked a maid inside his hotel room at the Sofitel hotel on West 44th Street Saturday afternoon.

He allegedly jumped out of his bathroom at the Hotel Sofitel on West 44th Street in the nude around 1:30 p.m. Saturday and grabbed the 32-year-old woman, police said. He grabbed her breasts and slammed the door shut so she couldn't escape, according to the criminal complaint.

Prosecutors said Strauss-Kahn "attempted to forcibly rape her. When he was unsuccessful, he forced her to perform oral sex on him."

The victim, who neighbors said is a West African immigrant who lives in the Bronx with her teenage daughter, gave investigators "a very powerful and detailed account of the ... sexual assault by the defendant," and "made outcries to multiple witnesses immediately after the incident," prosecutors said.

The woman submitted DNA samples after the attack, and the sexual forensic exam "corroborate her account," McConnell said.

Strauss-Kahn was caught on security camera leaving the Sofitel "in a hurry," prosecutors said. Brafman said he was on his way to a lunch date, but did not say with whom.  Reports said that Strauss-Kahn claimed he was at lunch with his daughter, Camille, a graduate student at Columbia University, during the time of the attack.

He allegedly tried to flee the country, hopping on an Air France flight that was minutes away from taking off when he was yanked off the plane by Port Authority police officers, officials said. He has a special "VIP" pass issued by the UN that his lawyer said helps him get on planes faster.

He was picked out of a police lineup by the victim, according to reports.

Dominique Strauss-Kahn's attorney Benjamin Brafman, left, leaves Manhattan Criminal Court Monday.
Dominique Strauss-Kahn's attorney Benjamin Brafman, left, leaves Manhattan Criminal Court Monday.
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DNAinfo/Paul Lomax

Prosecutors added that additional information about Strauss-Kahn's alleged attack has been emerging "on a daily basis" and said this is not the first alleged victim of his to come forward, in what could be a reference to French author Tristane Banon, who came forward last year to say that she had to physically fight off Strauss-Kahn when he tried to sexually assault her, according to reports.

Brafman said Strauss-Kahn's flight out of JFK was "set in stone for days" and argued that Strauss-Kahn has every right to bail. He said Strauss-Kahn would stay with his daughter in Manhattan, and added that he has three other children and a wife and a home in Washington D.C.

"I'm hoping my client gets a fair trial," Brafman told reporters outside the court after the arraignment. "This is a very defensible case there are significant issues we have already found," he added, saying it is "quite likely he might ultimately be exonerated."

Strauss-Kahn is due back in court Friday.

An IMF spokesman said the executive board is scheduled to convene informally Monday to discuss the latest update in Strauss-Kahn's case. 

The IMF has "clear rules" for on-duty staff trips, including a cap on hotel room prices of $386 a night, including tax and tips, the agency said in a statement. The Sofitel is not included on the list of approved hotels, the agency said.

However, they said Strauss-Kahn was staying in New York on private business and paid for his room himself.