The French presidential hopeful was arrested in New York for 'sexual assault'
The French presidential hopeful was arrested in New York for 'sexual assault'
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The head of the International Monetary Fund and the French left's great hope for president, has been arrested and charged with sexually assaulting and attempting to rape a housekeeping employee in a New York hotel. Strauss-Kahn (62) was taken from the first class cabin of a Paris-bound Air France flight on the tarmac at JFK airport by plainclothes officers before Manhattan police formally arrested him on charges of criminal sexual act, attempted rape and unlawful imprisonment.
New York police spokesman Paul Browne detailed the allegedly brutal attack on a woman at the Sofitel New York on West 44th Street, where Strauss-Kahn was staying in a $3,000 a night suite. The 32-year-old woman told police she entered his room at about 1 pm. Browne said, "She told detectives he came out of the bathroom naked, ran down a hallway to the foyer and pulled her into a bedroom and began to sexually assault her. He dragged her down a hallway into the bathroom where he engaged in a criminal sexual act. He tried to lock her into the hotel room."
By the time police arrived, Strauss-Kahn had left the hotel, leaving behind his mobile phone and other personal items. "It looked like he got out of there in a hurry," Browne added. His lawyer said he would plead not guilty in court. According to New York state law, a criminal sexual act includes forcibly compelling someone to engage in oral sex. The offence carries a potential sentence of 15 to 20 years ufffd the same as attempted rape. Unlawful imprisonment carries a potential sentence of three to five years. The allegations threaten to severely damage the standing of the IMF. An IMF investigation in 2008 cleared Strauss-Kahn of harassment and favouritism over an affair with a senior colleague but deemed it a "serious error of judgement".
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