Reporting from New York— The hotel housekeeper who accused former IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn of sexual violence faced the worldwide media Thursday, and with a shaky voice and broken English defended herself against accusations that she fabricated the story against the man once viewed as a contender for the French presidency. "A lot of people are saying bad things about me, calling me names," Nafissatou Diallo said at a mega-church in the heart of immigrant and black Brooklyn. "A lot of people are saying things about me that are not true." The ordeal had torn her apart and upset her teenage daughter, she said, wringing her hands under the lectern, adding, "But I promise her I'm going to be strong for you and every other woman in the world." Diallo's entourage was formidable: two influential state senators, one of New York's most powerful black ministers and a cadre of women's rights advocates and religious leaders. The appearance of Diallo — "Nafi" to those who know her — was unorthodox. Alleged rape victims generally don't call news conferences. But supporters said the 32-year-old Guinean immigrant, who cannot read or write, had no choice but to go public. Prosecutors have been considering dropping the case after discovering that she had lied about certain aspects of her life and that she had shady friends. "When you are afraid and your back is against a wall, you don't stay behind closed doors; you do what is necessary," Lisa Jenkins, a professor of gender oppression at City University of New York and a minister from a Harlem church, told reporters. "We will stand behind Nafi Diallo until justice is done." Diallo told police May 14 that Strauss-Kahn had accosted her in a Manhattan hotel room she was about to clean. After drawing international attention and forcing Strauss-Kahn to resign as head of the International Monetary Fund, the case appeared to crumble this month over questions of Diallo's credibility, specifically a recorded conversation she had with a friend in federal prison suggesting she intended to dun the wealthy Frenchman. Strauss-Kahn's lawyers have maintained that nothing criminal occurred between their client and Diallo — that the sexual encounter was consensual. And William Taylor III, one of the lawyers, said this week that by mounting a publicity campaign Diallo had only reinforced the notion that she was an opportunist. Initially, law enforcement officials privately dribbled details about the case that made Strauss-Kahn look like a predator, but then let out details that made Diallo look bad. Diallo's lawyer, Ken Thompson, said this week that his client was tired of the manipulations by prosecutors who now were "throwing her over the side of the ship." He said that by demanding a trial — even if that went against standard legal procedures — Diallo was forcing prosecutors on a better course. Thompson said that during a meeting Wednesday in the district attorney's office, he and Diallo heard a new translation of the conversation she had with her imprisoned friend. The new version, by an expert in the Fulani dialect of Guinea, appeared to validate her first account to police and revealed that she had no intention of shaking down Strauss-Kahn, he said. The district attorney's office would not comment on the meeting. "Nafissatou Diallo is not concerned about Dominique Strauss-Kahn's money," Thompson said. "All she is concerned about is what he tried to do to her in a hotel room when no one was looking." Los Angeles Times