New York:
Guards at New York City's massive Rikers Island jail complex are taking unusual precautions to make sure that IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn stays safe 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 at night and guards checking him 24 hours a day to make sure he doesn't kill himself.
All inmates arriving at Rikers Island are given a mental health assessment to determine whether they might pose a suicide risk.
Norman Seabrook, the president of the union that represents corrections officers, on Tuesday said that Strauss-Kahn did or said something during the 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.
But the official, who spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of prisoner medical information, stressed that Strauss-Kahn had not tried to harm himself and appeared to be in good condition.
Seabrook also said the IMF chief had 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 machine delivers extra air via a mask while the patient sleeps.
Since his arraignment on Monday on charges that he tried to rape a hotel maid, Strauss-Kahn has been held at Rikers Island, home to thousands of prisoners serving short sentences or inmates awaiting trial.
Because of his stature, the head of the International Monetary Fund has been assigned to a facility at the jail that normally houses inmates with very contagious diseases, like measles or tuberculosis.
Also on Tuesday, details began to emerge about Strauss-Kahn's accuser, a 32-year-old immigrant from the West African nation of Guinea with a 15-year-old daughter.
The hotel maid has not been identified and The Associated Press generally does not name people alleging sexual assault.
Her lawyer told the AP on Tuesday that his client's account of being attacked by Strauss-Kahn in the Sofitel hotel suite near Times Square was the truth.
"There is no way in which there is any aspect of this event which could be construed consensual in any manner," Jeffrey Shapiro said.
He added that his client did not know that Strauss-Kahn was managing director of the International Monetary Fund and did not know of him in the hotel.
Some of Strauss-Kahn's supporters in France, where he was considered a possible challenger next year to President Nicolas Sarkozy, have suggested he may be the victim of a setup.
But Shapiro said such suggestions were "totally untrue".
Strauss-Kahn is charged with attempted rape, sex abuse, a criminal sex act, unlawful imprisonment and forcible touching.
The most serious charge carries five to 25 years in prison.
Matthew Galluzzo, a former member of the sex crimes unit of the New York County district attorney's office on Tuesday said sex crime cases were especially difficult cases to prosecute.
He said this is because sex crime cases rely heavily on the "credibility of the complaining witness".
Strauss-Kahn is expected to appear in court again on Friday.
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 at night and guards checking him 24 hours a day to make sure he doesn't kill himself.
All inmates arriving at Rikers Island are given a mental health assessment to determine whether they might pose a suicide risk.
Norman Seabrook, the president of the union that represents corrections officers, on Tuesday said that Strauss-Kahn did or said something during the 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.
But the official, who spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of prisoner medical information, stressed that Strauss-Kahn had not tried to harm himself and appeared to be in good condition.
Seabrook also said the IMF chief had 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 machine delivers extra air via a mask while the patient sleeps.
Since his arraignment on Monday on charges that he tried to rape a hotel maid, Strauss-Kahn has been held at Rikers Island, home to thousands of prisoners serving short sentences or inmates awaiting trial.
Because of his stature, the head of the International Monetary Fund has been assigned to a facility at the jail that normally houses inmates with very contagious diseases, like measles or tuberculosis.
Also on Tuesday, details began to emerge about Strauss-Kahn's accuser, a 32-year-old immigrant from the West African nation of Guinea with a 15-year-old daughter.
The hotel maid has not been identified and The Associated Press generally does not name people alleging sexual assault.
Her lawyer told the AP on Tuesday that his client's account of being attacked by Strauss-Kahn in the Sofitel hotel suite near Times Square was the truth.
"There is no way in which there is any aspect of this event which could be construed consensual in any manner," Jeffrey Shapiro said.
He added that his client did not know that Strauss-Kahn was managing director of the International Monetary Fund and did not know of him in the hotel.
Some of Strauss-Kahn's supporters in France, where he was considered a possible challenger next year to President Nicolas Sarkozy, have suggested he may be the victim of a setup.
But Shapiro said such suggestions were "totally untrue".
Strauss-Kahn is charged with attempted rape, sex abuse, a criminal sex act, unlawful imprisonment and forcible touching.
The most serious charge carries five to 25 years in prison.
Matthew Galluzzo, a former member of the sex crimes unit of the New York County district attorney's office on Tuesday said sex crime cases were especially difficult cases to prosecute.
He said this is because sex crime cases rely heavily on the "credibility of the complaining witness".
Strauss-Kahn is expected to appear in court again on Friday.
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