The charges included "criminal sexual act, unlawful imprisonment, attempted rape" and "assaulting a 32-year-old girl in a hotel room," Ryan Sesa, a police deputy spokesman, told reporters.
His lawyer told AFP the IMF chief would deny everything. "He will plead not guilty," the lawyer, William Taylor, said in Washington.
Strauss-Kahn also received a visit from the French consul general, Philippe Lalliot, late Saturday, the French foreign ministry said, after he was escorted off an Air France flight just 10 minutes before it was due to take off from John F. Kennedy airport.
The 62-year-old Socialist, who has been widely praised for his stewardship of the IMF, is a well-known figure on the French political scene popularly known by his initials DSK.
He had been expected to challenge center-right French President Nicolas Sarkozy in next year's presidential race, and even though he has not yet officially declared his candidacy he had been topping the opinion polls.
Martine Aubry, leader of the French Socialists, said Sunday the shock news of Strauss-Kahn's arrest was a "thunderbolt" that left her "astounded."
Pundits and political figures on both the right and the left said Strauss-Kahn's hopes for the presidency had been destroyed by the arrest, which could damage the entire party's prospects.
Source: http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/world/view/20110515-336677/IMF-chief-charged-with-sex-assault-rape-attempt
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