The Mayor of New York; Eric Adams, is accused, in a complaint revealed Thursday, November 23 by the American press, of having sexually assaulted a woman thirty years ago, facts that the former police officer denies “vigorously”.
The complainant “was sexually assaulted by Eric Adams” in New York in 1993 “while both were working for the City of New York” – the current mayor was then a police officer – according to the complaint cited by The Messenger and the New YorkPost.
A New York State law
The document, which is three pages long and which was filed Wednesday evening a few hours before an important deadline, does not give further details on the alleged facts, according to The Messenger. “The mayor doesn’t know who this person is”reacted a spokesperson for Eric Adams. “If they did in fact meet, he doesn’t remember it. But he would never do anything that wouldn’t physically harm anyone, and he strenuously denies that claim,” he added.
The plaintiff, whose name has not been released, is seeking a trial and $5 million in damages, according to The Messenger. Aged 63, Eric Adams has been mayor of New York for two years, the second African-American to lead the megacity. Coming from a poor family, he experienced delinquency before becoming a police officer, creating a union to fight racism and then finally entering politics as an elected Democrat.
He recently had his phones seized by the federal police (FBI) as part of an investigation into illegal financing of an electoral campaign, with the press citing suspicions of corruption by Turkey.
Civil legal actions are made possible by a New York State law which allows, since November 2022, and until the deadline of Thursday, the Thanksgiving holiday, victims of sexual violence to file a civil complaint for prescribed criminal or misdemeanor acts.
