IMF boss charged with sexual assault in NY court

(Bloomberg): International Monetary Fund chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn appeared in court for the first time since he was pulled off a plane May 14 in New York and accused of trying to rape a hotel maid. Strauss-Kahn, who was taken into custody aboard an Air France flight at John F. Kennedy International Airport as it prepared to depart, was escorted into Manhattan criminal court this morning. Prosecutors asked the judge that the IMF chief be held in custody until trial. He faces as many as 25 years in prison if convicted of the most serious count, prosecutors said. The IMF chief is also charged with unlawful imprisonment and a criminal sex act.

A potential candidate for the French presidency, Strauss-Kahn, 62, has denied the charges and will plead not guilty, his lawyer Benjamin Brafman has said.

The alleged attack on a 32-year-old woman at a Sofitel hotel in midtown Manhattan occurred May 14, according to the New York Police Department. Strauss-Kahn was picked out of a line-up by the maid, police said.

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