IMF chief denied bail on sex assault charge‎

http://timesofearth.com/Worldnews/?NT... The head of the International Monetary Fund is being held without bail in New York on charges of sexual assault, following a complaint by a hotel maid. Lawyers for Dominique Strauss-Kahn say he is not guilty, and that he agreed to undergo a forensic examination as police gather more evidence in the case. His next court date is Friday. He faces up to 25 years in prison. NEW YORK - Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), has been remanded to custody after a New York city judge denied him bail over charges that he attempted to rape a 32-year-old hotel maid. Lawyers for Strauss-Kahn, who appeared in the court on Monday, said he would plead not guilty to the accusations. Strauss-Kahn is due to appear in court against on May 20. Ryan Sesa, a police deputy spokesman, said charges against Strauss-Kahn included a "criminal sexual act, unlawful imprisonment and attempted rape". The 62-year-old, who was tipped to run as a Socialist candidate in French presidential elections next year, has already undergone a scientific and forensic examination at the request of US authorities. He is accused of trapping a maid at a luxury hotel in Manhattan and sexually assaulting her. The woman, who has not been identified, picked Strauss-Kahn out of a line-up on Sunday, as police said they had won a warrant to seek DNA evidence on his clothes. A French writer on Monday also said she would make a complaint against the IMF chief, claiming he assaulted her in 2002. Tristane Banon, a novelist and journalist, previously made the allegation against the leading politician in 2007 - on television and in an interview with a news website - but she had not made a formal complaint to authorities. Her mother, also a Socialist candidate, had previously urged Banon not to press charges. "We're planning to make a complaint. I am working with her," Banon's lawyer David Koubbi said. The allegations against Strauss-Kahn have thrown the 2012 French election into disarray, as the IMF chief was seen as a strong contender for the position. Nicolas Sarkozy, the current president, is likely to have his chances of re-election now improved, even if Strauss-Kahn clears his name. Far-right leader Marine Le Pen, who was predicted to come second behind Strauss-Kahn in a first round vote, also stands to benefit given her long-running complaint about French politics as an elitist boys' club. "It is the first time a judicial affair has such an impact on the presidential election," Frederic Daby of pollster IFOP told Reuters news agency. "It's unprecedented in France's political history." The Socialists, who have no other candidate to match Strauss-Kahn, have vowed to press on with their primary selection process. The IMF has also been left reeling, with critical talks in Brussels due to take place on Monday on the fallout of the debt crisis sweeping the eurozone. London's Financial Times said the scandal threatened to undermine Europe's influence within the body at a time when the euro is in crisis. "It may well force the organisation's members to confront wider issues of European influence over the fund, even as it prepares to extend more rescue loans to Western Europe," the paper said. But the European Commission has said the case should have no impact on bailout plans for struggling eurozone nations. Strauss-Kahn's deputy, John Lipsky, has stepped in as acting managing director. "The IMF remains fully functioning and operational," a spokeswoman for the IMF said.