IMF chief resigns amid sex assault allegations, makes new bid for bail

(CBS/WCBS/AP) NEW YORK - The head of the International Monetary Fund, Dominique Strauss-Kahn, stepped down from his post overnight amid the sex assault charges which could land him in prison for 25 years.

Behind bars on New York's Rikers Island since Monday, Strauss-Kahn returned to a Manhattan courthouse Thursday to again ask for bail on the charges he sexually assaulted a hotel maid - a move seemed certain to face vigorous opposition by prosecutors.

If approved by a judge, according to CBS station WCBS, he would likely have to post $1 million bail, wear an electronic monitoring bracelet, and remain in Manhattan under house arrest.

Late Wednesday, Strauss-Kahn resigned as managing director of the International Monetary Fund, according to a letter released by its executive board.

In the letter, Strauss-Kahn denied the allegations but said he felt compelled to resign with "great sadness" because he was thinking of his family and also wanted to protect the IMF.

In court papers filed by his defense team Wednesday, Strauss-Kahn said he had surrendered his passport and wouldn't flee the country. His attorneys proposed posting $1 million cash bail and confining him to the home of his daughter, Camille, a Columbia University graduate student, 24 hours a day with electronic monitoring.

Strauss-Kahn, 62, has no criminal record, is "a loving husband and father," and is highly regarded as a diplomat, politician, lawyer, economist and professor, his attorneys wrote.

They had proposed similar conditions at an earlier bail hearing but added the promise of house arrest Wednesday. A judge denied him bail Monday.