The head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Dominque Strauss-Kahn has been arrested for sexually assaulting a hotel maid at his $3,000 a night suite. He was denied bail and sent to Riker’s Island for the night.

Of course he and his defense team claim the attack was consensual. “The evidence, we believe, will not be consistent with a forcible encounter,” one lawyer said. “There may have been consent.” Neither Strauss-Kahn nor the hotel worker had scratches or defensive marks on them. The accuser’s medical exam supports her claims, as might forensic evidence found at the scene.

The prominent French politician is known as a womanizer. He has been married three times and is rumored to have had many indiscretions.

Reports are now surfacing of other sexual misconduct. In 2002 he assaulted his second wife’s god daughter, Tristane Banon. Banon’s mother at the time discouraged her daughter from going to the police, citing the close ties between the families. Banon is now filing charges.

She has described him as “a rutting chimpanzee” who had to be fought off by her. “It finished badly, very violently, I kicked him”, she said in an interview. Inside of twenty four hours this man’s arrest and pending prosecution that could put him away for 25 years, has upended the Presidential election in France. He was expected to oust Sarkozy from office in a primary challenge.

His actions have thrown the IMF into a bit of a tizzy as they scramble for a replacement and repair damage done to their credibilty. His arrest has put the global economy in jeopardy, and it’s limping along slowly as it is. The IMF oversees loans to Ireland and Greece and they were in talks to bailout Portugal. Strauss-Kahn was on board a plane bound for Europe and a series of meetings with German Chancellor Angela Merkle.

Tags: imf, dominque strauss-kahn, sexual assault, arrest
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