New York prosecutors have asked a judge to drop sexual assault charges against former International Monetary Fund director Dominique Strauss-Kahn, who was arrested in May on suspicion of raping a hotel maid.

The prosecutors filed a recommendation to dismiss the charges in a Manhattan court on Monday. U.S. media say a judge will consider that request at a Tuesday court hearing that Strauss-Kahn is expected to attend. He has been free on bail since a brief period of detention after his arrest.

Prosecutors announced their bid to drop the case shortly after meeting with Strauss-Kahn's accuser, Nafissatou Diallo, and her lawyer at the Manhattan District Attorney's office.

Diallo accuses the then-IMF chief of sexually assaulting her when she went to clean his room at the Manhattan Sofitel on May 14. Strauss-Kahn's lawyers deny the allegations and have suggested that any sexual encounter was consensual.

Diallo's case faltered in late June when prosecutors revealed inconsistencies in her account of what happened at the hotel. They also disclosed that she had fabricated a story about being gang-raped in her native Guinea for her U.S. asylum application.

U.S. media say prosecutors believe those revelations would have undermined Diallo's credibility in front of a jury.

Prior to the incident, Strauss-Kahn was a leading Socialist contender to challenge French President Nicolas Sarkozy in an election next year. He resigned his IMF post after being arrested on rape allegations that significantly eroded his support among the French electorate.