Nightly News | May 16, 2011
IMF chief denied bail over sexual assault charges
Despite cries of foul play by some in the French press, prosecutors say they have DNA evidence to prove that Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the leader of IMF and possible presidential candidate in France, attempted to rape a maid in his Manhattan hotel room. NBC's Jeff Rossen reports.
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This content comes from Closed Captioning that was broadcast along with this program.
>>> now to a stunning arrest. one of the most powerful bankers in the world. the head of the international monetary fund is in jail here in new york tonight. charged with violent sex crimes at a manhattan hotel. he was a favorite in the french presidential elections where this news has gone off like a bomb. our report tonight from nbc's jeff rossen .
>> step up.
>> reporter: there he was, one of the world's most powerful men, disheveled, unshaven, and facing felonies. dominique shoutrous con head of the fund now charged with violent sex crimes against a maid inside this luxury manhattan hotel.
>> restrained a hotel employee inside his room. he sexually assaulted her and attempted to forcibly rape her.
>> reporter: prosecutors argued with his wealth and influence, he's an extreme flight risk. the judge agreed, no bail. he'll sit in jail awaiting trial. as leader of the inf, he controls a trillion dollars. he was even about to run for president of france, but this weekend inside his expensive suite at manhattan 's hotel, police say he went on the attack. sexually assaulting the maid on the bed, dragging her to the bathroom, and sexually assaulting her again. with the nrtd national press in a feeding frenzy, strauss khan's defense team sdpoek out of court.
>> we'll prove in the government that he is innocent of this charges.
>> guilty or not, many say this wim end his career and any hopes of winning the presidency. in the french media , already talking of conspiracy theories, that the current french president , nicklaolas sarkozy, could have shut him doup to shut him down.
>> that's why they were suspecting, but there's no proof of this. this is all suspicion and conjec conjecture.
>> reporter: but prosecutors say they have solid forensic evidence in this case, including dna they found inside the hotel suite where he was standing. they also have his own past. in 2002 , a young woman in her 20s acuecused him of attacking her. in 2008 , he admitted to an affair with a lower-level employee of the imf. today, he's in rijker's island.
>> not far from us in