NY maid sues Strauss-Kahn over ‘sadistic’ attack

“Believing that he was immune from the laws of this country,Strauss-Kahn intentionally,brutally and violently sexually assaulted Diallo and in the process humiliated,degraded,violated and robbed her of her dignity as a woman,” the 16-page lawsuit said.

It adds that Diallo suffered physical and psychological harm due to the “senseless attack” and faces “permanent harm to her professional and personal reputations… from which she may never fully recover.”

The civil lawsuit comes even as a criminal case against Strauss-Kahn,62,is pending in state court in Manhattan.

The lawsuit gives detailed account of Strauss-Kahn’s assault on 32-year-old Diallo,saying it caused severe physical injuries to her.

Diallo’s lawyer Kenneth Thompson said in court papers that he was prepared to produce testimony from other women who say they were attacked by Strauss-Kahn in “hotel rooms around the world.”

On the timing of the lawsuit,Thompson said,”Diallo has filed her lawsuit now because she wants to vindicate her rights,assert her dignity as a woman and hold Dominique Strauss-Kahn accountable for the violent and deplorable acts that he committed against her.”

Reacting to the lawsuit,Strauss-Kahn’s lawyers William Taylor and Benjamin Brafman said in a statement that the civil suit has no merit and Strauss-Kahn will defend it vigorously.

They said they had always maintained that the motivation of Thompson and his client was to make money.

“The filing of this lawsuit ends any doubt on that question,” the statement said.

The lawsuit adds that following Diallo’s decision to stand up for her rights,false information about her was leaked in the media,”apparently by members of Manhattan District Attorney’s office” that have “severely damaged her credibility,reputation and character.”

“As a result of these repeated leaks,some people now believe,albeit incorrectly,that Diallo made up the sexual assault in order to shake down the defendant Strauss-Kahn for money.”

This has caused Diallo to be “vilified” in news reports around the world as a “professional con artist and pathological liar.”

It further adds that “Rupert Murdoch owned New York Post” even ran a series of articles that said she was a “prostitute.”

The suit seeks unspecified monetary damages for harm to her personal and professional reputations,physical and psychological harm,damage to her career and mental anguish,damages for the assault,battery,intentional infliction of emotional distress and false imprisonment and an injunction permanently restraining Strauss-Kahn from enaging in such unlawful conduct.

Diallo had revealed her identity in media interviews last month.

She accused Strauss-Kahn of sexually assaulting her when she was cleaning his suite at the Sofitel hotel in Manhattan on May 14.

Strauss-Kahn was arrested and charged with sexual assault and attempted rape.

A leading candidate for the French presidency at the time,he resigned from his IMF post four days after his arrest. Strauss-Kahn has pleaded not guilty to criminal charges and denied any wrongdoing.