Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the former head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has pleaded not guilty"Wudn't me."
to charges he sexually assaulted a hotel maid in New York.
The 62-year-old could face up to 25 years in prison if convicted on charges including attempted rape, sex abuse, a criminal sex act, unlawful imprisonment and forcible touching.
Wearing a dark suit,
| "So distingue'! So charmant!" |
| "So charmant! So distingue'!" |
Defence lawyers said on Monday that they believed forensic evidence wouldn't support a forcible encounter.
"We intend to defend this case and defend it vigorously but we are going to do so in the court room. Today Mr Strauss-Kahn entered a plea of not guilty, that's a very eloquent and powerful statement that he made that he denies these charges," Benjamin Brafman, Strauss-Kahn's lead lawyer, said.
| No, actually it's a simple, concise, "Not guilty, your honour." |
But Kenneth Thompson, the maid's lawyer, said the notion that the 32-year-old "hard-working single mother" had consensual sex with Strauss-Kahn was "preposterous".
"All of Dominique Strauss-Kahn's power, money and influence will not stop the truth of what he did to her in that hotel room from coming out," he said. "She is going to come into this courthouse, get into that witness stand and tell the world what (he) did to her."