The Sofitel Hotel maid who has accused former International Monetary Fund director Dominique Strauss-Kahn of trying to rape her on May 14 has reportedly hired high-profile French lawyer Thibault de Montbrial to try to find more alleged Strauss-Kahn sexual assault victims. The Telegraph has the story:

"I was hired to see if we can contact other victims of Strauss-Kahn," de Montbrial said in a telephone interview.

"They (the U.S. lawyers) were looking for an attorney in France who had a certain amount of visibility and independence in France, where this is a very complicated case," de Montbrial said.

Strauss-Kahn is currently out on bail from New York's Rikers Island jail and on house arrest in the TriBeCa neighborhood of Manhattan. He faces seven criminal counts of sexual assault and attempted rape, and could be sentenced to as many as 25 years in jail if found guilty on all of them. Before last month's arrest, he had been seen as a contender for the next French presidency.

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Adam Martin