Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
Dominique Strauss-Kahn Indicted On Sex Charges, Gets Bail
By
Jen Chung
Published May 19, 2011
Modified May 19, 2011
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
By
Jen Chung
Published May 19, 2011
Modified May 19, 2011
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
La liberté, sort of, for just-resigned IMF head Dominique Strauss-Kahn. His bail application was accepted, but he'll have to stick around New York a little while longer since a grand jury indicted him on charges related to allegedly sexually assaulting a Times Square hotel maid on Saturday.
The Daily News, which published a photograph of a disheveled Strauss-Kahn in his Rikers cell, reports, "The defense team included five attorneys and two others. Strauss-Kahn arrived about 20 minutes after the hearing was supposed to begin, tanned and smiling despite his time behind bars. He wore a gray suit and blue shirt, without a tie." According to the Wall Street Journal, "State Supreme Court Judge Michael Obus agreed on Thursday to release Mr. Strauss-Kahn on a package that included a $1 million cash bail, a $5 million bond and 24-hour home confinement in a Manhattan apartment rented by his wife."
This comes as there are reports that Strauss-Kahn was rough with an infamous New York madam's prostitutes. Former gubernatorial candidate Kristen Davis told the Daily Telegraph, "He was a client of my agency. When men abuse women I'm no longer going to protect their identities." She "said Mr Strauss-Kahn called her directly on her mobile phone and paid $1,200 cash for two-hour sessions in hotel rooms" in 2006. Davis explained, "He wanted an 'All-American girl', with a fresh face, from the mid-West. A girl in January 2006 complained he was rough and angry, and said she didn't want to see him again". Then, in September 2006, Davis says she sent him a Brazilian escort, but "he was rough... She told me not to send any new girls to him."
And then there's that other report that claims French President Nicolas Sarkozy warned the once-leading Socialist politician back in 2007 to basically keep it in his pants, "Over there they don't joke about this sort of thing. Your life will be passed under a magnifying glass. Avoid taking the lift alone with interns. France cannot permit a scandal."
Besides the 32-year-old African immigrant who claims Strauss-Kahn forced her to perform oral sex at the Sofitel this past week, a French journalist claims he sexually assaulted her in 2002 (she says she was convinced not to press charges by her mother, who knew Strauss-Kahn).
Tagged
bail
dominique strauss-kahn
imf
indictment
sexual attack
sofitel
Times Square
Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
Man shot by ICE in NYC still has bullet lodged in neck, attorneys say
Oscar Belgal, a 28-year-old immigrant from the Dominican Republic, was in solitary confinement at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Sunset Park on Monday.
By
Liam Quigley
Published Oct 12, 2026 at 11:37 a.m. ET
NY measles spread prompts 'disaster' emergency. It didn't have to be this way, health commissioner says.
The state health commissioner says the disease outbreak is wholly preventable.
By
Elizabeth Shwe
News
NY measles spread prompts 'disaster' emergency. It didn't have to be this way, health commissioner says.
The state health commissioner says the disease outbreak is wholly preventable.
By
Elizabeth Shwe
NYC wants to move deliveries onto the waterways. It's starting with a 55-year-old boat.
By
Liam Quigley
Inside the luxury Greenpoint high-rise powered by a rumbling generator for over a month
By
David Brand
Mayor Mamdani orders review of NYPD use of force policies
By
Michael Sol Warren
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .