Former International Monetary Fund chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn has pleaded not guilty in a U.S. court to charges that he attempted to rape a maid in a New York hotel last month.

Strauss-Kahn, who was accompanied by his wife and legal team, was greeted outside the court by a group of women in maid uniforms shouting “Shame on you!” His next hearing is set for July 18.

The Frenchman is accused of attacking a 32-year-old African immigrant last month when she came to clean his suite at the luxury Sofitel hotel in New York City.

Strauss-Kahn quit as IMF managing director a few days after his May 14 arrest in the first-class section of an Air France plane, minutes before he was to depart from New York to Paris. He has been under house arrest since being released from jail last month on $6 million cash bail and bond.

The 62-year-old faces 25 years in prison if he is convicted on charges of a criminal sexual act, attempted rape, sex abuse, unlawful imprisonment and forcible touching.

Strauss-Kahn has weathered past sex scandals. In 2008, he apologized for what he termed an “error in judgment” for an affair with one of his subordinates.

Before the latest scandal, Strauss-Kahn was considered a leading contender to run as the Socialist party's candidate against President Nicolas Sarkozy in France's 2012 presidential election.