05-19-2011, 08:56 PM
NEWYORK NEWS reported that Strauss-Khan's physical examination took place
in the Infectious Disease wing of a local hospital. The following article may explain
why.
Last Updated on Wednesday, 18 May 2011 20:55
Guinean woman allegedly raped by Strauss-Kahn lives in housing for adults with HIV
- Hotel maid from Guinea, a widow, feels 'threatened' by global attention and wants to remain anonymous, says lawyer
- IMF head isolated, on suicide watch at NYC jail
- She testified before grand jury, Wednesday
The accuser in the Dominique Strauss-Kahn sex case, the 32-year-old Guinean woman who worked as chambermaid at the Sofitel hotel suite near Times Square in New York lives with her daughter in a Bronx apartment housing project run by Harlem Community AIDS United and rented exclusively for adults with HIV or AIDS, the New York Post has learned.
In an exclusive report, The Post said the hotel maid, a West African immigrant, has occupied the fourth-floor High Bridge pad with her 15-year-old daughter since January -- and before that, lived in another Bronx apartment set aside by Harlem Community AIDS United strictly for adults with the virus and their families.
The Post has not been able to ascertain whether the maid, 32, has HIV/AIDS because of medical confidentiality laws. But the agency rents apartments only for adults with the disease. A Harlem United worker said at least one adult in the household has to be HIV-positive or have AIDS to qualify for one of their units. A healthy adult with a child with HIV or AIDS is not eligible.
So it's not clear whether she has the disease. It might, however, help to explain why Dominique Strauss-Kahn (DSK) is on suicide watch.
Meanwhile, her lawyer says she feels "alone in the world" and is telling the truth. Jeffrey Shapiro says his client is from the west African nation of Guinea. He says the woman, who has a 15-year-old daughter, has "no agenda" and did not know even know who Strauss-Kahn was until a day or two after she was allegedly attacked on Saturday.
The maid who has accused Dominique Strauss-Kahn is an immigrant who had no idea who he was and has 'no agenda', says her lawyer Jeffrey Shapiro (pictured). Photograph: Bebeto Matthews/AP
Her story of being attacked by Strauss-Kahn in the Sofitel hotel suite near Times Square is "consistent" because she is telling the truth, he said.
The 32-year-old maid at New York City's Sofitel Hotel testified in court today that "there was nothing consensual" about the assault that allegedly took place Saturday, her lawyer Jeffrey Shapiro said.
Meanwhile, investigators say they are conducting DNA tests on bodily fluids and other materials found in the $3,000-a-night suite.
"There is no way in which there is any aspect of this event which could be construed consensual in any manner," Shapiro said. "This is nothing other than a physical, sexual assault by this man on this young woman."
He continued: "It's not just my opinion that this woman is honest. The New York City police department reached the same conclusion." He added: "This is a woman with no agenda."
Strauss-Kahn, 62, who denies all the charges, has reportedly been put on suicide watch at the infamous Rikers Island prison in New York, after being denied bail on Monday. According to the Associated Press the IMF chief has a whole jail wing to himself, a medical device to make sure he doesn't stop breathing during the night and guards checking him 24 hours a day to make sure he does not attempt to take his own life.
Defense lawyer Benjamin Brafman has said defense lawyers believe the forensic evidence "will not be consistent with a forcible encounter". He said "there are significant issues that were already found" that make it "quite likely that he will be ultimately be exonerated".
Shapiro said his client arrived in the US seven years ago from Guinea under "very difficult circumstances,", and lives in the city with her daughter. The 32-year-old maid told authorities that she thought the suite was empty but that Strauss-Kahn emerged from the bathroom naked, chased her down a hallway, pulled her into a bedroom and dragged her into a bathroom, police said.
He allegedly forced her to perform oral sex, according to a court complaint. She broke free, escaped the room and told hotel staffers what had happened, authorities said. She was treated at a hospital for minor injuries.
Shapiro, who was introduced to the woman by a friend on Sunday, said that since the incident, she had not returned to her home and saw her daughter for the first time only on Tuesday.
"She's been the victim of a rape and physical assault, she hasn't had a chance to deal with that personally," he said, adding that he was organising for her to see a counselor. Shapiro described his role as trying to help her sort out her life and to explain the legal proceedings to her.
The lawyer for the maid, a 32-year-old widow from Guinea, West Africa, said his client would testify before the grand jury later on Wednesday. In the U.S. legal system, a grand jury convenes in secret to hear evidence and decide whether to indict a defendant.
"She wants to remain anonymous because she's very much afraid that something could happen to her physically, she feels very threatened by this," he said of all the global attention on the case.
In the meantime, guards at New York City's massive Rikers Island jail complex are taking unusual precautions to make sure IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn doesn't come to any harm behind bars.
The 62-year-old banker and diplomat has a whole jail wing to himself, a medical device to make sure he doesn't stop breathing during the night and guards checking him 24 hours a day to make sure he doesn't kill himself.
Since his arraignment Monday on charges that he tried to rape a hotel maid, Strauss-Kahn has been held at the city's massive Rikers Island jail complex, home to thousands of prisoners serving short sentences or inmates awaiting trial. Because of his stature, Strauss-Kahn has been assigned to a facility at the jail that normally houses inmates with very contagious diseases, like measles or tuberculosis.
Department of Correction spokesman Stephen Morello said Strauss-Kahn has been placed in a wing with about 14 cells, all of which are empty except for his. There is a toilet and a sink in the cell. He takes his meals there as well, with breakfast at 5 a.m., lunch at 11 a.m. and dinner at 4 p.m. or 5 p.m.
All inmates arriving at Rikers Island are given a mental health assessment to determine whether they might pose a suicide risk.
AP Photo - FILE - This March 16, 2011 file photo shows inmate housing on New York's Rikers Island penal complex. Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the chief of the International Monetary Fund, spent Monday night, May 16, 2011, at infamous Rikers Island, after he was charged with trying to rape a maid at a New York hotel where he was staying.
Norman Seabrook, president of the union that represents corrections officers, said Strauss-Kahn did or said something during that evaluation that made doctors concerned. As a result, he is being monitored day and night.
A law enforcement official confirmed that Strauss-Kahn had been placed on a suicide watch. The official, who spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of prisoner medical information, said Strauss-Kahn had not tried to harm himself and appeared to be in good condition.
Seabrook said Strauss-Kahn has also been issued a Continuous Positive Airway Pressure machine, or CPAP, because he suffers from sleep apnea, a common condition that can cause a person to stop breathing for short periods during the night. The patient wears a mask that delivers extra air while they sleep.
Morello said Strauss-Kahn will be free to leave his cell from time to time and wander the wing, and can leave the building for an hour each day for recreation outdoors, if he chooses. When he does, he will be accompanied by guards and won't encounter other inmates.
As a pre-trial detainee, Strauss-Kahn isn't required to wear a prison uniform. He may bring his own clothing and wear what he chooses in his cell, whether it be designer suits, or something more casual. There are two exceptions: First, he has had to give up his shoes. All prisoners are required to wear standard-issue, lightweight, slip-on sneakers (although he is allowed to don regular dress shoes for court appearances, if he wishes). Secondly, to see visitors, he is required to put his civilian garb aside and don a gray jumpsuit, specially designed without pockets or other hiding places where contraband could be stashed.
Prisoners at Rikers island are not given an inmate number like in the movies, but are identified by a statewide criminal justice system code that sticks with them for life, even if they are incarcerated later somewhere else. Strauss-Kahn's NYSID number is 09132366L.
in the Infectious Disease wing of a local hospital. The following article may explain
why.
Last Updated on Wednesday, 18 May 2011 20:55
Guinean woman allegedly raped by Strauss-Kahn lives in housing for adults with HIV
- Hotel maid from Guinea, a widow, feels 'threatened' by global attention and wants to remain anonymous, says lawyer
- IMF head isolated, on suicide watch at NYC jail
- She testified before grand jury, Wednesday
The accuser in the Dominique Strauss-Kahn sex case, the 32-year-old Guinean woman who worked as chambermaid at the Sofitel hotel suite near Times Square in New York lives with her daughter in a Bronx apartment housing project run by Harlem Community AIDS United and rented exclusively for adults with HIV or AIDS, the New York Post has learned.
In an exclusive report, The Post said the hotel maid, a West African immigrant, has occupied the fourth-floor High Bridge pad with her 15-year-old daughter since January -- and before that, lived in another Bronx apartment set aside by Harlem Community AIDS United strictly for adults with the virus and their families.
The Post has not been able to ascertain whether the maid, 32, has HIV/AIDS because of medical confidentiality laws. But the agency rents apartments only for adults with the disease. A Harlem United worker said at least one adult in the household has to be HIV-positive or have AIDS to qualify for one of their units. A healthy adult with a child with HIV or AIDS is not eligible.
So it's not clear whether she has the disease. It might, however, help to explain why Dominique Strauss-Kahn (DSK) is on suicide watch.
Meanwhile, her lawyer says she feels "alone in the world" and is telling the truth. Jeffrey Shapiro says his client is from the west African nation of Guinea. He says the woman, who has a 15-year-old daughter, has "no agenda" and did not know even know who Strauss-Kahn was until a day or two after she was allegedly attacked on Saturday.
The maid who has accused Dominique Strauss-Kahn is an immigrant who had no idea who he was and has 'no agenda', says her lawyer Jeffrey Shapiro (pictured). Photograph: Bebeto Matthews/AP
Her story of being attacked by Strauss-Kahn in the Sofitel hotel suite near Times Square is "consistent" because she is telling the truth, he said.
The 32-year-old maid at New York City's Sofitel Hotel testified in court today that "there was nothing consensual" about the assault that allegedly took place Saturday, her lawyer Jeffrey Shapiro said.
Meanwhile, investigators say they are conducting DNA tests on bodily fluids and other materials found in the $3,000-a-night suite.
"There is no way in which there is any aspect of this event which could be construed consensual in any manner," Shapiro said. "This is nothing other than a physical, sexual assault by this man on this young woman."
He continued: "It's not just my opinion that this woman is honest. The New York City police department reached the same conclusion." He added: "This is a woman with no agenda."
Strauss-Kahn, 62, who denies all the charges, has reportedly been put on suicide watch at the infamous Rikers Island prison in New York, after being denied bail on Monday. According to the Associated Press the IMF chief has a whole jail wing to himself, a medical device to make sure he doesn't stop breathing during the night and guards checking him 24 hours a day to make sure he does not attempt to take his own life.
Defense lawyer Benjamin Brafman has said defense lawyers believe the forensic evidence "will not be consistent with a forcible encounter". He said "there are significant issues that were already found" that make it "quite likely that he will be ultimately be exonerated".
Shapiro said his client arrived in the US seven years ago from Guinea under "very difficult circumstances,", and lives in the city with her daughter. The 32-year-old maid told authorities that she thought the suite was empty but that Strauss-Kahn emerged from the bathroom naked, chased her down a hallway, pulled her into a bedroom and dragged her into a bathroom, police said.
He allegedly forced her to perform oral sex, according to a court complaint. She broke free, escaped the room and told hotel staffers what had happened, authorities said. She was treated at a hospital for minor injuries.
Shapiro, who was introduced to the woman by a friend on Sunday, said that since the incident, she had not returned to her home and saw her daughter for the first time only on Tuesday.
"She's been the victim of a rape and physical assault, she hasn't had a chance to deal with that personally," he said, adding that he was organising for her to see a counselor. Shapiro described his role as trying to help her sort out her life and to explain the legal proceedings to her.
The lawyer for the maid, a 32-year-old widow from Guinea, West Africa, said his client would testify before the grand jury later on Wednesday. In the U.S. legal system, a grand jury convenes in secret to hear evidence and decide whether to indict a defendant.
"She wants to remain anonymous because she's very much afraid that something could happen to her physically, she feels very threatened by this," he said of all the global attention on the case.
In the meantime, guards at New York City's massive Rikers Island jail complex are taking unusual precautions to make sure IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn doesn't come to any harm behind bars.
The 62-year-old banker and diplomat has a whole jail wing to himself, a medical device to make sure he doesn't stop breathing during the night and guards checking him 24 hours a day to make sure he doesn't kill himself.
Since his arraignment Monday on charges that he tried to rape a hotel maid, Strauss-Kahn has been held at the city's massive Rikers Island jail complex, home to thousands of prisoners serving short sentences or inmates awaiting trial. Because of his stature, Strauss-Kahn has been assigned to a facility at the jail that normally houses inmates with very contagious diseases, like measles or tuberculosis.
Department of Correction spokesman Stephen Morello said Strauss-Kahn has been placed in a wing with about 14 cells, all of which are empty except for his. There is a toilet and a sink in the cell. He takes his meals there as well, with breakfast at 5 a.m., lunch at 11 a.m. and dinner at 4 p.m. or 5 p.m.
All inmates arriving at Rikers Island are given a mental health assessment to determine whether they might pose a suicide risk.
AP Photo - FILE - This March 16, 2011 file photo shows inmate housing on New York's Rikers Island penal complex. Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the chief of the International Monetary Fund, spent Monday night, May 16, 2011, at infamous Rikers Island, after he was charged with trying to rape a maid at a New York hotel where he was staying.
Norman Seabrook, president of the union that represents corrections officers, said Strauss-Kahn did or said something during that evaluation that made doctors concerned. As a result, he is being monitored day and night.
A law enforcement official confirmed that Strauss-Kahn had been placed on a suicide watch. The official, who spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of prisoner medical information, said Strauss-Kahn had not tried to harm himself and appeared to be in good condition.
Seabrook said Strauss-Kahn has also been issued a Continuous Positive Airway Pressure machine, or CPAP, because he suffers from sleep apnea, a common condition that can cause a person to stop breathing for short periods during the night. The patient wears a mask that delivers extra air while they sleep.
Morello said Strauss-Kahn will be free to leave his cell from time to time and wander the wing, and can leave the building for an hour each day for recreation outdoors, if he chooses. When he does, he will be accompanied by guards and won't encounter other inmates.
As a pre-trial detainee, Strauss-Kahn isn't required to wear a prison uniform. He may bring his own clothing and wear what he chooses in his cell, whether it be designer suits, or something more casual. There are two exceptions: First, he has had to give up his shoes. All prisoners are required to wear standard-issue, lightweight, slip-on sneakers (although he is allowed to don regular dress shoes for court appearances, if he wishes). Secondly, to see visitors, he is required to put his civilian garb aside and don a gray jumpsuit, specially designed without pockets or other hiding places where contraband could be stashed.
Prisoners at Rikers island are not given an inmate number like in the movies, but are identified by a statewide criminal justice system code that sticks with them for life, even if they are incarcerated later somewhere else. Strauss-Kahn's NYSID number is 09132366L.