Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the disgraced former IMF managing director charged with sexually assaulting a hotel maid, is to appear before the US criminal court on Friday, the office of Manhattan district attorney said late Thursday, dpa reported.
Strauss-Kahn had been scheduled to next appear in court on July 18 following his first court appearance last month for a pre-trial hearing. The announcement by District Attorney Cyrus Vance's office provided no details as to why Strauss-Kahn was to return to court earlier than expected, but it was believed his lawyers would seek to ease the conditions of his bail.
Srauss-Kahn had pleaded not guilty to several counts of sexually assaulting a maid at the Sofitel Hotel in midtown Manhattan on May 14. He was released on a 5-million-dollar bail and is now living under strict 24-hour security surveillance in a luxury townhouse in Lower Manhattan.