IMF Chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn Arrested at JFK Airport … Accused of Sexual Assault

Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the 62 year old head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) was arrested last night at JFK International Airport  just as his Air France plane was about to depart to Paris. Kahn was arrested for allegedly sexually attacking a 32 year old maid in a mid-town Manhattan, NYC hotel.  He was charged of criminal sexual act, attempted rape, and an unlawful imprisonment in connection with a sexual assault. According to his attorney Benjamin Brafman, his client “will plead not guilty.”

Mr. Strauss-Kahn, 62, who was widely expected to become the Socialist candidate for the French presidency, was apprehended by detectives of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey in the first-class section of the jetliner, and immediately turned over to detectives from the Midtown South Precinct, officials said.

The New York Police Department arrested Mr. Strauss-Kahn at 2:15 a.m. Sunday “on charges of criminal sexual act, attempted rape, and an unlawful imprisonment in connection with a sexual assault on a 32-year-old chambermaid in the luxury suite of a Midtown Manhattan hotel yesterday” about 1 p.m., Deputy Commissioner Paul J. Browne, the department’s chief spokesman, said.

Here are a couple more tidbits regarding the incident, as reported at the Bangor Daily News, it would appear that Kahn left his hotel in a rush.  However, this is not the first time that Kahn has been in trouble. He was  investigated in 2008 over an improper relationship with a subordinate female employee where the IMF board found his actions “regrettable” and said they “reflected a serious error of judgment.”

When New York City police detectives arrived moments later, Strauss-Kahn had already left the hotel, leaving behind his cellphone, Browne said. “It looked like he got out of there in a hurry,” Browne said.

The NYPD discovered that he was at the airport and contacted Port Authority officials, who plucked Strauss-Kahn from first class on the Air France flight that was scheduled to depart at 4:40 p.m. and was just about to leave the gate.

Dominique Strauss-Kahn was widely thought to become the Socialist candidate for the French presidency. How will this reported sexual assault accusation affect that political run?