New York maid hits Strauss-Kahn with civil lawsuit

Lawsuit alleges that former IMF chief assaulted housekeeper in a "violent and sadistic attack."

By REUTERS
Strauss Kahn 311 (photo credit: Reuters)
Strauss Kahn 311
(photo credit: Reuters)
NEW YORK - Former IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn sexually assaulted a housekeeper in a "violent and sadistic attack" in his hotel suite in Manhattan in May, a civil lawsuit filed on Monday alleges.
The lawsuit repeats the version of events the woman who accuses him, Nafissatou Diallo, has told since she revealed her identity in media interviews in late July.
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She says a naked Strauss-Kahn emerged from the bathroom in his $3,000-a-night suite at the Sofitel Hotel on May 14 and forced her to perform oral sex.
"Believing he was immune from the laws of this country, defendant Strauss-Kahn intentionally, brutally and violently sexually assaulted Ms. Diallo and in the process humiliated, degraded, violated and robbed Ms. Diallo of her dignity as a woman," according to the the complaint.
Strauss-Kahn, 62, has denied the allegations and his lawyers have said any sexual encounter was consensual. The civil suit says Diallo will give evidence the man once considered a leading contender for the French presidency harassed and assaulted other women in the past.
The lawsuit, filed in the Bronx where the illiterate 32-year-old mother lives, does not seek specific damages.
The criminal case against Strauss-Kahn has wavered for weeks since prosecutors revealed Diallo lied about her past and her actions immediately after the incident. Her lawyers have told reporters for weeks that she would bring a civil case against him.
Strauss-Kahn's next criminal court date is Aug. 23. He resigned as chief of the International Monetary Fund a few days after his arrest in May.