IMF head/French politician arrested in NYC

[UtwigMU]

Note that hotel in which he was staying was owned by French company.

The fishy thing to me with this is that people in such positions do this type of things and get away with them mostly. If it was in the interest of his fellow politicians or IMF coleagues for him to be kept, he would have gotten away this time as well.

Could also be what dZeus said: he couldn't have resisted his urge and it got out by "accident" (like for instance in Burn After Reading).

[Dr Mordrid]

Looking at the NY law rape only referrs to vaginal intercourse, so attemped rape would be any failed attempt at forcible vaginal intercourse. The penalty is the same as if the attempt were successful; 25 years. A legal distinction without a difference.

Sodomy is "deviant intercourse," a legalism for anal and oral penetration, and the degree charged determined by the legal ability to give consent; forced, disability, age etc. Forcible sodomy is a 25 year felony.

In most states the judge can at sentencing, based on the circumstances, order the sentences to be served concurrantly (25 + 25 = 25 actual) or consecutively 25 + 25 = 50 actual)

[Brian Ellis]

And according to other sources, he attempted fellatio. Which was it? The data issued seems about as clear as to whether OBL was armed or not. The very fact that there is such obfuscation makes me think the whole thing is a put-up job and the various parties weren't briefed as to what to say.

[Dr Mordrid]

Forced oral would probably fall under the sodomy statute.

Also, forced can usually be determined by a rape "clock" exam via colposcopy. With 12 o'clock being in line with the clitoris; mild bruising, skin fissures or muscle tears at between 10 and 2 o'clock indicate voluntary, even rough voluntary, while their presence between 5 and 7 o'clock indicates forced.

[Evildead666]

I still stand by the possibility that the woman may have been a thief, or was suspected of thieving.
Its just as plausible as the attempted rape charge, except with the attempted rape charge he basically has to prove he didn't do it.
That is not presumed innocent.
That is presumed guilty, prove you're not.

There have been cases here ( a few actually) where teachers and other responsible adults have been accused of rape, where in fact the 'victim' was lying.
People have been wrongly incarcerated, committed suicide, and generally been publicly refused 'the right to life' even when proven not-guilty. Yes, some 'proof' was found, people don't usually get incarcerated without proof here either. But the proof turned out to be wrong, or misinterpreted.

I do not condone rape, or anything close, but there is a problem with actually proving attempted rape. Who do you believe ? The Human thought is automatically to the 'victim'. But what if the 'victim' is actually the 'accused' ?

That is why there has to be proof, tangible proof, not some bollocks that could go either way depending on which way you look at it.

The Spotlight is now on the US, and their Justice System.
Lets just hope it doesn't turn into a Michael Jackson or OJ style media frenzy affair. Maybe its too late for that.

[Umfriend]

The very fact that there is such obfuscation makes me think the whole thing is a put-up job and the various parties weren't briefed as to what to say.

Funny, in my mind obfuscation generally tends to indicate that people are simply doing the best they can. It's with conspiracies that everything ties up neatly!

[VJ]

The very fact that there is such obfuscation makes me think the whole thing is a put-up job and the various parties weren't briefed as to what to say.

To me, this obfuscation means there is basically no official statement yet, and the press just publishes whatever they think might have happened or whatever might make them sell more. Many people will just claim things for the sake of getting some money by selling their story.

Various options are possible, ranging from: "he did it", over "it was staged for politics", "it was staged for money" to Evildead's "it was a quick/clever reaction from thief who got caught".

The media are pretending to know it all, but all they are doing is making any fair justice nearly impossible: the public will have formed their opinion, no matter the truth.

Sure, the guy has not been unspoken of, and of course in most cases the simplest solution holds; but we cannot use both those arguments to immediately to condemn him. Let the investigation work...

[Dr Mordrid]

Y'a know, we in North America largely got out of the notion of blaming the victim a long time ago. Mainly because it's sexist and often classist.

I also see s bit of what we saw in the past - politicians of the oh-so politically correct end of the spectrum skate by with the above and/or "It's only sex!!" while others don't.

Let's get this straight: rape is NOT about sex, it's about power and dominance. Saying with NO evidence whatsoever that the maid had to be a prostitute, thief or political conspirator is like raping her all over again, but this time it's a rape of of her mind, soul, and reputation.

I'll be first in line to say prosecute her if the rape claim is false, but until then SHE gets the benefit of the doubt, NOT some pompous bureaucrat with a history of pecadillos.

[Dr Mordrid]

Arraigned and DENIED BAIL! Off to The Tombs he goes....

3 things will cause a judge to do this;

1. Severity of the crime, especially if evidence of violence is presented.

2. Weight of the evidence gathered so far.

3. Flight risk.

Washington Post....

A New York criminal court judge denied bail to Dominique Strauss-Kahn, head of the International Monetary Fund, after he was charged with attempting to rape a housekeeper at a hotel in Midtown Manhattan.

Strauss-Kahn, also charged with a criminal sex act and unlawful imprisonment, made his first courtroom appearance after being pulled off a Paris-bound plane minutes before takeoff Saturday afternoon. Prosecutors had planned to bring him before a judge Sunday before deciding to delay a day so they could search him for physical evidence.
>

[VJ]

I'll be first in line to say prosecute her if the rape claim is false, but until then SHE gets the benefit of the doubt, NOT some pompous bureaucrat with a history of pecadillos.

Strange that only one side gets the benefit of the doubt. This throws the whole "innocent until proven guilty" out of the window: both sides should be considered possibly guilty, but both should be considered innocent until proven guilty.
The media plays a big role in this, as they smell a saucy story and thus an opportunity to sell newspapers. Furthermore - in general - they always pick one side. Ideally, there would be limited media coverage (and only describing actual facts rather than assumptions, in either direction). The media risks destroying a persons' career (I'm speaking in general, not necessarily about this case) beyond repair if their stories turn out to be false.
Investigations in high profile cases should be closely followed, as there is a bigger chance of high profile people to talk/pay/... their way out of it (which should be prevented also).

I already mentioned the situation here about the investigation in to a bishop. On is computer, a photo of a naked girl was found, somehow this found its way to the press. Realizing the potential harm this could do to his career, the investigators immediately broke silence of the investigation to state that there indeed was such a photo on his computer, but that it was part of an art-photo collection which was reported on by the national TV; the photo was in the browser-cache from going to the national TV station's website.

Once the investigation is over, THEN the guilty party should be punished. Until then, everything is academic - regardless of the type of crime. My 2c...

[Dr Mordrid]

He's been moved from The Tombs jail in lower Manhattan to the Rikers Island prison complex, and is being held in an 11x13 foot protective solitary confinement cell. This because the other 14,000 prisoners there are mostly violent offenders.

He was denied bail because of being a flight risk, having fled the hotel and to the nearest international airport.

Charged with 7 total counts -

2 counts: first-degree criminal sexual act
1 count: first-degree attempted rape
1 count: first-degree sexual abuse
1 count: third-degree sexual abuse.
1 count: second-degree unlawful imprisonment
1 count: forcible touching

Rikers Island


Rikers cell

[Brian Ellis]

Me no comprehendo! If the cell you show is what this guy is incarcerated in, it is a flagrant violation of the human rights of an INNOCENT man. Yes, innocent, because no court of law has proven him guilty. Do you not have detention centres for those awaiting trial, where the detainees have the right to communications, especially with their briefs? And what is wrong with an electronic bracelet for anyone awaiting trial? At least, this would have given him the right to communicate with the IMF, his lawyers, his family etc. I'm shocked at the "hospitality" that NY offers a VIP.

[Umfriend]

That's the hospitaltiy that any rapist gets.

just kiddin'

[Evildead666]

...
He was denied bail because of being a flight risk, having fled the hotel and to the nearest international airport.

The reason is due to the Roman Polanski affair. If he somehow got to France, they couldn't force him back for trial.
They could have just kept his passport, and let him stay in another Hotel, but that would have looked a bit silly, since he is accused of raping a chamber maid.

Ideally, he should have been kept in a Police Dept Cell, somewhere in the city, not in a rancid prison, where he is effectively already being punished for a crime he has not been convicted of.

[Brian Ellis]

effectively already being punished for a crime he has not been convicted of.

Justice �* l'américaine

EDIT [When is this software going to allow all accents and diacritical marks?]