A New York court on Thursday released former IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn on bail, but without any bearing on indictment on seven counts for sexually assaulting a hotel housekeeper last Saturday.
Strauss-Kahn was bailed after posting $1 million cash surety and $5 million bond. He will stay home under 24x7 surveillance by a private security agency paid by him, and will travel to and from the court under armed security cover.
The former IMF managing director is accused of sexually assaulting a Manhattan hotel housekeeper in his suite last Saturday.
He is contesting the charges, and resigned on Wednesday saying he needs to devote all the time he can to proving his innocence. His wife, and American journalist, Anne Sinclair, was in the court with their daughter.
Strauss-Kahn was brought to the court in a business suit with a shirt open at the collar.
He spent the last two days in an 11x13 foot cell at Rikers Island jail complex, on suicide watch, after an earlier application for bail was rejected by the court as the prosecution had feared he might flee the country if freed. The prosecution had pretty much the same stand on the defense team’s second application for bail. Manhattan assistant district attorney Artie McCconnell told the judge Strauss-Kahn showed a “propensity for criminal behavior”.
During televised portions of the proceedings, Strauss-Kahn showed no or little emotion while the lawyers went back and forth on his bail application. But he often reached across to consult his defense lawyer Benjamin Brafman.
{{/usCountry}}During televised portions of the proceedings, Strauss-Kahn showed no or little emotion while the lawyers went back and forth on his bail application. But he often reached across to consult his defense lawyer Benjamin Brafman.
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