Eric Adams, the Mayor of New York City, is embroiled in a legal battle following a sexual assault accusation that dates back three decades.
Mayor Adams faces a lawsuit for an alleged sexual assault that reportedly occurred in 1993.
The accusation, made under the Adult Survivors Act, is a significant challenge for Mayor Eric Adams, who has been at the helm of America’s largest city and grappling with other legal issues, including a federal investigation into his campaign finances.
The plaintiff, whose identity remains confidential, alleges that Adams, then a New York Police Department (NYPD) officer, committed the assault when both were city employees.
Filed just before the deadline of the Adult Survivors Act, the lawsuit seeks at least $5 million in damages. This act permitted the filing of civil suits for sexual misconduct, irrespective of when the alleged incidents happened.
The summons also names New York City, the transit bureau of the NYPD, and the Guardian Association of the NYPD as co-defendants, indicating the breadth of the legal challenge facing Adams. Mayor Eric Adams has vehemently denied the allegations.
“It absolutely did not happen. I don’t recall ever meeting this person. And I would never harm anyone in that magnitude. It did not happen,” Adams told reporters, according to Politico.
In statements through a spokesperson he insisted on his lack of recollection of ever meeting the plaintiff let alone committing the alleged acts.
“The mayor does not know who this person is. If they ever met, he doesn’t recall it,” the spokesperson told The Hill. “But he would never do anything to physically harm another person and vigorously denies any such claim.”
This strong denial sets the stage for a potentially prolonged and closely watched legal process.
The lawsuit is filed under the Adult Survivors Act, a law with a one-year lookback window. In just recent days, in addition to Mayor Adams, Jamie Foxx, Jimmy Iovine, Axl Rose, and Sean “Diddy” Combs have been accused of sexual assault as the deadline (November 24) to file lawsuits approaches.
It is similar to the Child Victims Act, which opened a temporary window for survivors of adult sexual abuse to seek redress in court, regardless of when the abuse occurred.