The Guinean hotel maid who has accused former IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn of attempted rape is suing the New York Post for claiming that she was a prostitute.
"Yes, we have filed suit against the New York Post for stating that the victim is a prostitute," her lawyer Kenneth Thompson said in an email.
The Post, citing a source close to the defence’s investigation team, has alleged the maid often traded sex for money with male guests at the Sofitel hotel in Manhattan.
The tabloid daily reported at the weekend that Strauss-Kahn and his accuser had engaged in sex acts in his luxury suite on May 14, and that afterwards there ‘was an expectation of money after the fact, but he was dismissive.’
The daily also alleged that the woman had played host to a parade of paying male visitors in the weeks after the arrest of the veteran French politician.
While the charges against the 62-year-old Strauss-Kahn still stand, the case has nearly imploded after prosecutors acknowledged their investigations of the accuser found she lied to a grand jury about the case.
In a letter to defense lawyers, Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance said the woman had provided a "false" narrative of her life -- including a gang rape which she later admitted never occurred -- as part of her application process for US asylum.
Strauss-Kahn's defense team has denied the New York Post's allegations that he engaged in sex for money with the hotel maid.
"There was no dispute between the parties because there was no discussion about money," the team, led by lawyers Benjamin Brafman and William Taylor, said in a statement.