Dominique Strauss-Kahn intends to 'vigorously' defend himself against charges that he sexually assaulted a hotel maid
The head of the International Money Fund, Dominique Strauss-Kahn, has agreed to undergo scientific and forensic tests and intends to "vigorously" defend himself against charges that he sexually assaulted a hotel maid, lawyers said late Sunday.
Strauss-Kahn's court hearing was delayed and he remained in jail last night after consenting to a medical examinations at the request of the government. He had been due to be arraigned in a Manhattan court on Sunday but the hearing has now been put over to Monday.
He was arrested over the weekend and charged with assaulting a 32-year-old maid at the Sofitel hotel in Manhattan. The maid identified Strauss-Kahn at a police line up at the special victims unit in Harlem, New York, where the 62-year-old French presidential hopeful was being held. She was driven from the station in a police van with a blanket over her head.
"He intends to vigorously defend these charges and denies any wrongdoing," lawyer Benjamin Brafman told journalists outside the courthouse.
William Taylor, another of the IMF boss's lawyers, said: "Our client willingly consented to scientific and forensic examinations at the request of the government." Taylor said Strauss-Kahn was "tired, but he's fine."
The IMF managing director was pulled off an Air France flight on Sunday as he headed for Europe for crunch talks with German chancellor Angela Merkel and European finance minister over the debt crisis.
Police claimed this weekend that Strauss-Kahn had left his hotel in a hurry, forgeting a mobile phone and other items, after sexually assaulting the maid. The woman has not been named. In a statement Jorge Tito, managing director of Sofitel New York, said he could not comment on the case.
"However we want to stress that our employee has been working with Sofitel New York for three years and we have been completely satisfied with the quality of her work and behaviour."
The IMF this weekend appointed John Lipsky, first deputy managing director, as interim boss in Strauss-Kahn's place. The board had been due to meet Sunday in what it described as a "informal" meeting but issued a statement saying the briefing had been postponed "pending further developments in New York."
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Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/may/16/dominique-strauss-kahn-medical-examination-court-hearing
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