Strauss-Kahn to plead not guilty in NY
NEW YORK: Former IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn will plead not guilty on Monday to charges he tried to rape a New York hotel maid, an accusation that has wrecked his chance of becoming France’s next president.
Praised for his role tackling the 2007-09 global financial crisis and attempts to keep Europe’s debt crisis under control, Strauss-Kahn, 62, is facing up to 25 years in prison if convicted on charges of a criminal sexual act, attempted rape, sex abuse, unlawful imprisonment and forcible touching.
His lawyer, Benjamin Brafman, told Reuters that Strauss-Kahn will plead not guilty to the charges in New York Supreme Court before Judge Michael Obus on Saturday.
Strauss-Kahn quit as managing director of the International Monetary Fund a few days after his May 14 arrest in the first-class section of an Air France plane, minutes before it was to depart New York for Paris.
He is accused of attacking a 32-year-old African immigrant a few hours earlier when she came to clean his suite at the luxury Sofitel hotel in Midtown Manhattan, apparently believing it had been vacated.
Strauss-Kahn, who has four daughters, said in his IMF resignation letter that he denies the charges but his court appearance on Monday will be the start of what could be drawn-out legal proceedings. (Reuters)
