LOS ANGELES • Rocky may face a fight in court.

American prosecutors have launched a probe to determine whether film star Sylvester Stallone should be charged in connection with a sexual assault reported last year, a spokesman said on Wednesday.

The case involves a woman who reported last November that the 71-year-old, best known for his roles in the Rocky and Rambo movies, had assaulted her in 1990.

Stallone's lawyer Martin Singer in December told United States media, when the allegation first surfaced, that his client "categorically disputes the claim and it is apparent that the woman filed the report to get a media outlet to publish the story".

But he acknowledged that Stallone had a relationship with the woman while shooting a movie in Israel in 1987 when he was single.

Mr Singer said at the time that he planned to submit a claim against the woman for filing a false police report.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE