Mayor Eric Adams of New York City is under scrutiny after a legal summons was filed, accusing him of sexually assaulting a woman back in 1993.
Mayor Eric Adams, the transit bureau of the New York Police Department, and the New York Police Department Guardians Association are named as defendants in the three-page filing, which does not contain details about the alleged assault.
‘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.
Filed in the state Supreme Court in Manhattan, the document is pushing for a trial and seeking $5 million in relief; however, the woman’s attorney has not yet responded to a Thursday email requesting comment.
In a statement, a City Hall spokesman said ‘The mayor does not know who this person is. If they ever met, he doesn’t recall it. But he would never do anything to physically harm another person and vigorously denies any such claim.’
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Talking to press on Thursday, Adams denied the allegations. ‘It did not happen. That is not who I am,’ he said. ‘It’s something that never took place.’
Prior to becoming mayor, Adams, a Democrat, ascended through the ranks from a New York City police officer to the position of captain and later served as a state senator and Brooklyn borough president.
The summons falls under the purview of the Adult Survivors Act, a unique New York law designed to enable lawsuits against notable figures facing allegations of sexual misconduct.
This has resulted in a surge of more than 2,500 lawsuits, involving individuals such as former President Donald Trump, hip hop mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs, and comedian-actor Russell Brand.
The filing aligns with Adams being under FBI investigation regarding his 2021 campaign, a probe that triggered the seizure of his phones and a search at the home of his chief campaign fundraiser.
Media outlets, including The New York Times and New York Post, have disclosed that the investigation includes probing whether Adams improperly intervened to assist the Turkish government in gaining city approval for a 35-story skyscraper with diplomatic facilities in 2021. This is amid reservations about the tower’s fire safety systems.
While deflecting questions about the FBI investigation, Adams continues to assert his innocence, emphasizing that he has not been involved in any wrongdoing.