A state lawmaker from Brooklyn has been accused in a lawsuit of raping a woman early in his career as a lawmaker when he went to her home to discuss disaster relief efforts for Haiti.
By means ofThe Associated Press
November 20, 2023, 12:59 PM
FILE – In this Feb. 6, 2017 file photo, Sen. Kevin Parker, D-Brooklyn, stands at the podium flanked by members of the Senate during a news conference at the Capitol in Albany, NY. Parker has been charged with raping a woman early in his parliamentary career when he went to her home to discuss disaster relief for Haiti. The lawsuit, filed on Friday, November 17, 2023, accuses Senator Parker of assaulting her in 2004, during his first term. (AP Photo/Hans Pennink, File)
The Associated Press
ALBANY, N.Y. — A Brooklyn state lawmaker has been accused in a lawsuit of raping a woman early in his career as a lawmaker when he went to her home to discuss disaster relief for Haiti.
The lawsuit, filed Friday, accuses Sen. Kevin Parker of attacking her in 2004, during his first term. The woman said she had worked with Parker to coordinate the delivery of supplies and donations to Haiti after a devastating flood that hit the country and other neighboring Caribbean islands.
The lawsuit was filed under the Adult Survivors Act, a special state law that suspended for a year the usual deadline for plaintiffs to file a lawsuit. The law expires after Thanksgiving.
A spokesman for Parker, a Democrat, did not immediately comment when asked about the lawsuit.
A spokesperson for the Senate’s top Democrat, Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins, said the allegations are “extremely troubling and we take them very seriously.”
“We will take appropriate action as more information becomes available,” said spokesman Mike Murphy.
The woman said in the lawsuit that the assault occurred after Parker came to her apartment to pick up photos from a visit she had made to Haiti. Parker represents a part of Brooklyn with a large Caribbean and Haitian community.
After they finished discussing work, the woman stood up to say goodbye when Parker grabbed her wrists, led her down a hallway to her bedroom, made a sexual comment and then raped her, the lawsuit said.
Email and phone messages left for the woman’s attorneys were not immediately returned. The Associated Press generally does not name people who say they have been sexually assaulted unless they come forward publicly.