IMF Chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn to Spend Night at Rikers Island Jail; Denied Bail in Alleged Sex Attack in Luxury Suite

From $3,000 hotel suite to common prison cell in 48 hours.

ByABC News
May 16, 2011, 11:42 AM

May 16, 2011— -- International Monetary Fund chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn, accused of the attempted rape of a maid in a $3,000-a-night New York hotel suite, is spending tonight in less luxurious surroundings -- the New York City jail on Rikers Island, according to city Department of Corrections officials.

Because of his high profile, Strauss-Kahn, 62, will be housed in protective custody while in Rikers Island's west facility, the smallest of the nine jails that comprise the New York City jail complex there.

The west facility houses about 30 inmates in single-person cells that are 11 by 13 feet, according to New York's Department of Corrections. Strauss-Kahn will either have a window or other direct natural light facing the door to his cell.

Earlier today, a New York City judge denied bail to the Frenchman, calling him a flight risk despite arguments to the contrary by his high-powered defense team. He will remain in jail until his hearing on Friday.

Wearing a black jacket and a light-colored shirt, Strauss-Kahn looked haggard but displayed a sense of haughtiness as he heard his short-term fate.

His attorneys had denied the seven counts against him, which included allegedly forcing a housekeeper at a New York City Sofitel Hotel to perform oral sex, and allegedly forcing her to submit to anal sex after allegedly taking her prisoner inside a his luxury suite.

He spent Sunday night sleeping in a squad room chair in a New York Police Department Special Victims Unit in Harlem.

During his first few hours at the Special Victims Unit on Saturday evening, Strauss-Kahn declined offers of meals. But by Sunday morning, he was hungry, police said.

"On Sunday, we ordered at his request scrambled eggs, home fries and toast from a local diner," Deputy Police Commissioner for Pubic Information Paul Browne said.

That evening he dined on a ham and cheese sandwich with mustard purchased at a Harlem deli, Browne said, adding that he was guessing that the Police Department paid a total of about $10 for Strauss-Kahn's meals.

Strauss-Kahn drank only water, police said. And according to Browne, he declined the offer of a mattress pad during his overnight stay, instead, resting in a squad room chair and from time to time putting his feet up on a second chair before drifting into sleep.

Despite the sudden reversal in his circumstances, a source who has been in direct contact with Strauss-Kahn told ABC News he is doing well.

"Dominique Strauss-Kahn is holding up remarkably well under the circumstances," the source said. "He has been gracious throughout this process. He is very grateful for the efforts of his entire legal team. Though he is unable to hear directly from his supporters in France, he knows the outpouring has been extraordinary and he is deeply moved."

All told, Strauss-Kahn has been charged with two counts of criminal sexual act in the first degree, one count of attempted rape, sexual abuse in the first degree, unlawful imprisonment, sexual abuse in the third degree and forcible touching. The complaint in criminal court in Manhattan charges that he forcibly touched the housekeeper's breasts, attempted to pull off her panty hose, twice "forcibly made contact with his penis and the informant's mouth" and that "the defendant engaged in oral sexual conduct and anal sexual conduct with another person by forcible compulsion."