Mayor Eric Adams asked a colleague for oral sex when she went to him for career help in 1993, according to a legal complaint filed Monday.
Adams, according to the lawsuit, then sexually assaulted her when she refused.
The two worked in the New York Police Department’s transit bureau and the woman had been passed over for a promotion, according to the complaint. She turned to Adams for help, according to the complaint, “because he had held himself out to be an advocate for equality and fair treatment for Black employees.”
The legal complaint is part of the woman’s civil lawsuit against Adams filed in November under the Adult Survivors Act, the New York Times reported.
After agreeing to help the woman, Adams drove her to a vacant lot, according to the complaint. There, she rebuffed his request for oral sex, and he put her “hand onto his erect penis.” She removed her hand, the complaint states, and then Adams “ejaculated on her.”
“Adams preyed on her perceived vulnerability, demanding a quid pro quo sexual favor and sexually assaulting Plaintiff,” according to the complaint.
An attorney for the mayor, city Corporation Counsel Sylvia Hinds-Radix, denied the new details alleged on Monday.
“While we review the complaint, the mayor fully denies these outrageous allegations and the events described here; we expect full vindication in court,” she said in a statement. “Additionally, in 1993, Eric Adams was one of the most prominent public opponents of the racism within the NYPD, which is why the suit’s allegations that he had any sway over promotions of civilian employees is ludicrous.”
The woman, now a resident of Florida, is seeking at least $5 million in damages, plus attorney’s fees, according to the court notice filed in November, the Gothamist reported.
