IMF chief to be held without bail

*New York (CNN)* -- Agreeing with prosecutors' assertions that he is a
flight risk, a judge Monday denied bail to International Monetary Fund head
Dominique Strauss-Kahn, who is charged with chasing a hotel employee down
the hall of his New York hotel suite and sexually assaulting her.

"The fact that he was about to board a flight, that raises some concerns,"
said Criminal Court Judge Melissa Jackson.

Strauss-Kahn is next set to appear in court May 20.

Prosecutors had argued against bail, saying they believe Strauss-Kahn has
engaged in "similar acts" at least once and that there would be nothing to
prevent him from returning to France and living "open and notoriously" like
film director Roman Polanski.

Prosecutors detailed a laundry list of charges against him including two
counts of first-degree criminal sexual act; one count of first-degree
attempted rape; one count of first-degree sexual abuse; one count of
second-degree unlawful imprisonment; one count of forcible touching; and one
count of third-degree sexual abuse.

Defense attorneys noted Strauss-Kahn's lack of a criminal record and said he
would be prepared to stay with his daughter in New York if released on bail.
They suggested a bail amount of $1 million.

But, Jackson told Strauss-Kahn defense attorney Benjamin Brafman, "The same
rules apply to your defendant as all defendants, and I am a fair judge."

Strauss-Kahn's arraignment was delayed a day after he agreed to forensic
testing requested by police, said another of his attorneys, William Taylor.
Brafman vowed Sunday to vigorously defend him in court, insisting his client
is innocent.

Police allege Strauss-Kahn sexually assaulted the 32-year-old woman Saturday
at the Sofitel hotel in Manhattan and then quickly headed off to a New York
airport to board a Paris-bound flight.

The arrest of the 62-year-old, widely considered a leading potential
candidate for the French presidency, has triggered intense political chatter
across the Atlantic. In France, it delivered what the Paris newspaper Le
Figaro called a "thunderclap" to the presidential race. The allegations also
triggered disappointment within Strauss-Kahn's Socialist party; some at the
party's headquarters were in tears Monday.

The arrest also disrupted the rhythm of the IMF, which assists countries
suffering economic difficulties by providing loans and is a major player in
economic inequalities and crises worldwide.

The world got its first look Sunday at Strauss-Kahn since his arrest as the
handcuffed IMF chief was taken by New York Police detectives from a police
station to the Manhattan Criminal Court building to await his arraignment.

Strauss-Kahn's accuser picked the IMF chief out of a lineup Sunday at a New
York police station, singling him out as the man who had sexually assaulted
her, according to a law enforcement source who has direct knowledge of the
investigation.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, was not authorized to
release details to the media.

Strauss-Kahn willingly consented to physical and forensic examinations that
had been requested by police, Taylor said. Those tests were conducted Sunday
night.

A former French finance minister, national legislator and economics
professor in Paris, Strauss-Kahn became the IMF's 10th managing director in
November 2007. He is also chairman of the IMF executive board.

"Mr. Strauss-Kahn has retained legal counsel, and the IMF has no comment on
the case; all inquiries will be referred to his personal lawyer and to the
local authorities," said Caroline Atkinson, IMF's director of external
relations. "The IMF remains fully functioning and operational."

IMF bylaws state that its officials "shall be immune from legal process with
respect to acts performed by them in their official capacity except when the
fund waives this immunity." Strauss-Kahn's attorneys did not answer
questions from CNN about whether he may claim that diplomatic immunity
covers such an allegation.

Deputy New York Police Commissioner Paul Browne said Strauss-Kahn does not
have diplomatic immunity in this case nor, to the commissioner's knowledge,
has he claimed it. CNN senior legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin said immunity is
unlikely to apply to Strauss-Kahn, regardless, because violent crimes like
the one alleged here typically aren't covered by it.

Strauss-Kahn's wife, French journalist Anne Sinclair, defended him in a
statement Sunday sent to Agence France-Presse.

"I do not believe for one second the accusations brought against my
husband," Sinclair said. "I have no doubt his innocence will be
established." Sinclair called for "decency and restraint," AFP said.

Strauss-Kahn and Sinclair live in Washington, where the IMF is based.

IMF spokesman William Murray said that as far as he knows, Strauss-Kahn was
not in New York for IMF business.

The IMF on Sunday postponed an informal executive board meeting in which
members were to be "briefed on developments" related to Strauss-Kahn, the
IMF said. The session was "postponed pending further developments in New
York," Murray said in an e-mail to CNN.

Strauss-Kahn was scheduled to be the keynote speaker at the Brussels
Economic Forum in Belgium on Wednesday. Organizers said Sunday his
appearance had not been canceled officially, but they were no longer
expecting him to attend.

Deputy head John Lipsky serves as acting managing director while
Strauss-Kahn is not in Washington, the IMF said, making him the agency's de
facto leader at least as long as Strauss-Kahn is detained in New York.

About 1 p.m. Saturday, Strauss-Kahn was in his hotel room when the
housekeeping employee came in to clean it, Browne said.

She thought she was alone in the luxury $3,000-a-night suite, but
Strauss-Kahn then emerged from a room naked, Browne said, and ran after her
down the hallway of the suite, which has its own foyer, hallway, living
room, bathroom, conference room and bedroom.

The woman said Strauss-Kahn pulled her into a bedroom and started attacking
her, police said.

She fought him off, she told investigators, but Strauss-Kahn then dragged
her into the bathroom and forced himself on her. Police said Strauss-Kahn
tried to remove her underwear, but the woman got away.

The employee ran to the front desk, Browne said. Hotel staff alerted the New
York Police Department.

By the time officers arrived, Strauss-Kahn had left, leaving his cell phone
behind at the hotel, according to Browne.

"The alleged victim was taken to Roosevelt Hospital (in Manhattan) and was
treated for minor injuries," Browne said.

Authorities learned the IMF head was on an outbound flight at JFK Airport
destined for Paris. New York police asked their counterparts at the Port
Authority to hold the plane.

Two plainclothes Port Authority police detectives boarded the aircraft "just
before the door closed" on the flight and found Strauss-Kahn seated in first
class, said a law enforcement official who had been briefed on the
investigation.

He "offered no resistance" when he was led off the plane, after which he was
turned over to New York police, the official said.

While Strauss-Kahn hadn't officially entered the French presidential race,
recent French opinion polls showed him leading prospective Socialist Party
presidential candidates. He sought the Socialist Party nomination for
president in 2006, losing out to Segolene Royal. Royal was defeated by
current French President Nicolas Sarkozy.

Surveys suggest that Strauss-Kahn posed a stiff challenge to Sarkozy in the
2012 election.

"If the accusations are true, Strauss-Kahn will not be able to run for
president," said Jacques Attali, a former top aide to Socialist President
Francois Mitterrand. Attali now serves as a political analyst.

Strauss-Kahn was elected to the French National Assembly, the lower house of
parliament, three times between 2001 and 2007.

Strauss-Kahn became embroiled in controversy soon after joining the IMF,
amid reports -- which he later acknowledged -- that he'd had an improper
relationship with a female employee. The physical relationship was
consensual, an independent inquiry found.

The world body's executive board concluded in October 2008 that "there was
no harassment, favoritism or any other abuse of authority by the managing
director."

"Nevertheless, the executive board noted that the incident was regrettable
and reflected a serious error of judgment on the part of the managing
director, as he has acknowledged and for which he has apologized," the IMF
said .

Strauss-Kahn also issued a statement after the investigation, noting that he
had "apologized for it to the (board of directors), to the staff of the IMF
and to my family," as well as "the staff member."

*CNN's Susan Candiotti, Miguel Susana, Rick Martin and Ross Levitt
contributed to this report.*

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