LAWYERS FOR DOMINIQUE Strauss-Kahn and the woman who has accused him of raping her have disputed the details of a leaked medical report which says that rape caused the injuries sustained by the hotel maid Nafissatou Diallo.

The French magazine L’Express published details yesterday of the contents of a medical report from the woman’s first hospital examination shortly after the incident in which it says “Cause of injuries: assault. Rape,” according to the translation reported in the magazine.

Diallo, who works at the Sofitel hotel in New York, claims that the former head of the International Monetary Fund sexually assaulted her in his room on 14 May this year, charges that Strauss-Kahn has consistently denied claiming the pair had consensual sex.

He has been charged with attempted rape and sexual assault.

Reuters reports that defence lawyers for the man once tipped to be the next president of France said that the document was “misleading and deceitful” because it was based entirely on Diallo’s account.

On the other hand, Kenneth Thompson, counsel for the 32-year-old hotel maid from Guinea, said: “The medical records are pretty powerful. Forensics don’t lie. That’s the bottom line.”

Diallo went public with her account of the incident in July speaking to a number of news outlets in the wake of attempts by Strauss-Kahn’s legal team to question her credibility and her account of what happened in May.

Diallo has also filed a civil suit against Strauss-Kahn for what she calls a “violent and sadistic” attack that left her life “in shambles.”

Strauss-Kahn is due back in court in the criminal case next Tuesday.