New York prosecutors asked a judge Monday to dismiss sexual assault charges against former International Monetary Fund chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn in a stunning reversal to one of the most high-profile sexual abuse cases in years. Strauss-Kahn was arrested in June on allegations of sexually assaulting a hotel maid in New York. The charges were dropped even though forensic tests found unambiguous evidence of a sexual encounter between Strauss-Kahn and the woman. Prosecutors reportedly had major doubts about the credibility of the hotel worker, Nafissatou Diallo, a 32-year-old immigrant from the African nation of Guinea. Diallo’s lawyer, Kenneth Thompson, criticized the district attorney’s decision.

Kenneth Thompson, lawyer for Nafissatou Diallo: “If the Manhattan district attorney, who is elected to protect our mothers, our daughters, our sisters, our wives and our loved ones, is not going to stand up for them when they’re raped or sexually assaulted, who will? Thank you.”