Strauss-Kahn case likely dead, lawyer says

NEW YORK, Aug. 21 (UPI) -- The lawyer representing the alleged victim in the Dominique Strauss-Kahn sexual assault case in New York says prosecutors want the case dropped.

Kenneth P. Thompson, representing the alleged victim, Nafissatou Diallo, said he received a letter from prosecutors calling for a meeting with him and his client Monday in New York, The New York Times reported.

"My interpretation of that letter is that they're going to announce that they're dismissing the case entirely, or some of the charges," Thompson said.

Diallo accused Strauss-Kahn, former head of the International Monetary Fund, of trying to rape her when she went to clean his suite at Sofitel New York in May. Strauss-Kahn resigned from the IMF after the incident occurred, but he has maintained his innocence.

"If they were not going to dismiss the charges," Thompson said Saturday, "there would be no need to meet with her. They would just go to court the next day to say, 'We're going to proceed with the case.'"

The letter was written by Assistant District Attorney Artie McConnell, who is working on the case. In the letter, McConnell said the purpose of the meeting is to explain "to her what I anticipate will occur in court the following day."

"Should she not be available or should she fail to attend, I will assume that she does not wish to take advantage of this opportunity," McConnell wrote.

Attorneys representing Strauss-Kahn declined to comment on the letter or the meeting. They have previously said the encounter between their client and the alleged victim was consensual, and that she is simply trying to exploit their client for money.