IMF Chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn Pickout Out of Lineup in Sexual Assault Case

May 15, 2011— -- The hotel maid who accused the head of the International Monetary Fund oftrying to rape her in his hotel suite today picked him out of a lineup, police sources told ABC News.

IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn, a man considered a likely French presidential candidate, was taken into custody at a New York airport Saturday after the hotel maid told police he tried to sexually assault her.

Police say at 1 p.m., a hotel housekeeper entered room 2806 at Sofitel in Manhattan -- a luxury $3,000-per-night, multi-room suite -- when Strauss-Kahn allegedly walked out of his bathroom naked and forced himself on the 32-year-old woman.

As she was in the foyer, "he came out of the bathroom, fully naked, and attempted to sexually assault her," NYPD Deputy Police Commissioner for Public Information Paul Browne said.

According to her account, Browne said, Strauss-Kahn grabbed her "and pulls her into the bedroom and onto the bed." He locked the door to the suite, Browne said.

"She fights him off, and he then drags her down the hallway to the bathroom, where he sexually assaults her a second time," Browne added.

Strauss-Kahn, 62, was taken into custody at around 4:30 p.m. Saturday, as he was sitting in the first-class section of a Paris-bound Air France jet at John F. Kennedy International Airport, just as the doors were closing for takeoff.

He was sitting quietly in his seat when police entered the plane as though he didn't have a care in the world, police souces said.

Detectives from the New York Police Department picked up the IMF president from Port Authority police and took him to midtown for questioning.

After nearly 10 hours in police custody, during which time he didn't speak a word to detectives, police said, he was formally arrested at 2:15 a.m. today on charges of a criminal sex act, attempted rape and unlawful imprisonment.

Strauss-Kahn's lawyer denies the attempted rape and said his client would plead not guilty.

Strauss-Kahn was leaving New York to attend a meeting in Berlin on Sunday with German Chancellor Angela Merkel regarding aid to debt-laden Greece -- the IMF is responsible for one-third of Greece's current loan package.

NYPD officials notified Port Authority police of the allegations against Strauss-Kahn and asked that they "take him off the plane," Browne said.

Browne said the maid notified hotel managers of the alleged assault and the hotel called 911.

"She reported the attack to hotel officials who called police," Browne said.

Emergency Medical Service responded to the location and transported the female to a local hospital where she was treated and released.

When police arrived they found Strauss-Kahn's cell phone and other forensic evidence linking him to the allegations, police said.

"It appeared he left in a hurry," Browne said.

Authorities said the hotel maid's account "is credible." She was taken by police to a hospital and was treated for minor injuries.

Strauss-Kahn is a father of four and married to his third wife, American-born French television journalist Anne Sinclair.

"I do not believe for a single second the accusations leveled against my husband," said Sinclair in a statement translated from French. She is appealing for "restraint and decency" while investigations take place.

Strauss-Kahn took over as head of the IMF in November 2007, but this incident is not his first brush with controversy during his tenure. In 2008 Strauss-Kahn had an affair with a Hungarian economist and later admitted he made an "error of judgment."

William Murray, an IMF spokesman, told ABC News that First Deputy Managing Director John Lipsky will be acting chief while Strauss-Kahn is away. Mr. Lipsky had recently announced his plans to forgo seeking a second term and resign when his term end on August 31, 2011.

According to senior police officials Strauss-Kahn has no diplomatic immunity, despite his position with the IMF, which makes him technically an administrative official with the United Nations.