New York City Mayor Eric Adams accused of 1993 sexual assault in legal filing
NEW YORK — New York Mayor Eric Adams has been accused of sexually assaulting a woman in 1993, according to a legal summons filed Wednesday.
The three-page filing contains no details about the alleged assault but names Adams, the New York Police Department’s transit agency and the New York Police Department Guardians Association as suspects.
“Plaintiff was sexually assaulted by Defendant Eric Adams in New York, New York, in 1993 while they both worked for the City of New York,” the summons reads.
The filing seeks a lawsuit and $5 million in damages. It was filed in the Manhattan State Supreme Court. The woman’s attorney did not immediately return an emailed request for comment Thursday.
Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Adams denied sexually assaulting anyone and said he had no memory of meeting the woman.
“It definitely didn’t happen. I don’t remember ever meeting this person and I would never harm anyone to that extent. It didn’t happen,” Adams said, according to a video posted by a reporter on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter. “It didn’t happen, and that’s not who I am and that’s not who I’ve ever been in my professional life. You know, it’s just something that never happened.”
Adams, a Democrat, was a New York City police officer who rose to the rank of captain before entering politics. Before becoming mayor, he was a senator and president of the Brooklyn borough.
The summons was filed under the Adult Survivors Act, a special New York law that imposed a one-year suspension of the usual time limit for prosecuting an alleged sexual assault. The lawsuit against Adams was filed just before the opening to legally close business after Thanksgiving.
The law has paved the way for a wave of lawsuits against famous men accused of sexual misconduct, with a slew of cases emerging in the final weeks before the law was set to expire. Over the past year, the act has led to more than 2,500 lawsuits, including cases against former President Donald Trump, hip-hop mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs and comedian and actor Russell Brand.
The filing comes as Adams is dogged by an FBI investigation into his 2021 campaign, which prompted agents to seize his phones and raid the home of his chief campaign fundraiser.
The New York Times and New York Post have reported that part of the investigation involves examining whether Adams improperly tried to help Turkey’s government get city approval to open a 35-story skyscraper in 2021 with diplomatic facilities, despite concerns about the tower’s fire safety. systems.
Adams has sidestepped questions about the FBI investigation but insists he did nothing wrong.