IMF chief questioned in sex assault case

Police pulled the head of the International Monetary Fund from a Paris-bound plane Saturday and were questioning him Saturday night in connection with the sex assault of a Manhattan hotel maid, officials said.

Dominique Strauss-Kahn was taken off Air France Flight 23 at Kennedy Airport by Port Authority officers at 4:45 p.m., about 10 minutes before the flight was scheduled to take off. He was turned over to New York City police yesterday afternoon, said Police Department spokesman Paul Browne, and was being questioned by the NYPD special victims unit. No charges have been filed.

The woman, 32, told authorities that she entered Strauss-Kahn's room at the Sofitel near Times Square about 1 p.m. She said he emerged from the bathroom naked, threw her down and tried to sexually assault her, Browne said.

She broke free and escaped, telling hotel staff what had happened, authorities said.

They called police, and when New York City police detectives arrived moments later, Strauss-Kahn had already left the hotel, leaving behind his cellphone and other personal items, Browne told The Associated Press.

An ambulance took the maid to a hospital with minor injuries.

William Murray, a spokesman for the IMF in Washington, told the AP the IMF had no immediate comment.