Updated 05/16/2011 09:53 AM
IMF Head Charged With Attempted Rape Of Manhattan Maid
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The head of the International Monetary Fund has been arrested on charges he sexually assaulted a maid at a Manhattan hotel.
Dominique Strauss-Kahn, 62, is charged with a criminal sex act, attempted rape, and unlawful imprisonment.
He is expected to plead not guilty at his arraignment.
Investigators say the 32-year-old maid went to clean his suite at the Sofitel Hotel on 44th Street around 1 p.m. Saturday. She told police Strauss-Kahn came out of the bathroom naked, chased her down a hallway and attacked her, forcing her to perform a sex act on him.
The woman eventually broke free and told hotel staff what happened.
When police arrived, Strauss-Kahn had already left the hotel, leaving behind his cell phone.
Hours later, Port Authority police pulled him off a Paris-bound flight at John F. Kennedy International Airport moments before takeoff.
"Our client consented to a scientific and forensic examination tonight at request of the government that's being done. Because of the hour we've agreed to postpone the arraignment until tomorrow morning," said William Taylor, Strauss-Kahn's attorney, on Sunday.
A man who says he has driven Strauss-Kahn found the accusations hard to believe.
"I'm just shocked to hear it," said the driver. "And I think we should probably give it a chance for all the facts to be revealed just before we pass judgment on a guy that's built his career up over years and years."
Strauss-Khan has led the IMF since 2007.
In 2008, the IMF board investigated him over whether he had an improper relationship with a female employee, but later found the relationship was consensual.
Strauss-Khan has been seen as a leading contender to challenge French president Nicolas Sarkozy in next year's election.
In France, the husband and father of four has a reputation as a womanizer, earning him the nickname "The Great Seducer."
Strauss Kahn's wife, Anne Sinclair, a well-known French anchorwoman, says she is standing by her husband, and does not believe for one second that he is guilty.
NY1 has reached out to Strauss-Khan's attorney and the IMF for comment.