November 4, 2024
New York City Mayor Eric Adams faces sexual assault allegations made in a lawsuit filed in Manhattan on Wednesday by a former female colleague, according to a report.

New York City Mayor Eric Adams has denied bombshell sexual assault allegations made in a legal filing by a woman who claims to be a former colleague . 

“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,” a City Hall spokesperson told Fox News Digital in a statement. 

Adams is named as a defendant in a summons filed Wednesday night in the state Supreme Court in Manhattan, The Messenger reported on Thursday morning. The woman who filed the documents is seeking a trial and at least $5 million in damages, the report said. 

“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 says, according to the report. 

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New York City Mayor Eric Adams

Eric Adams speaks during a press conference on the 2023 Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade at Inflation Eve at American Museum of Natural History on November 22, 2023 in New York City. (Photo by Taylor Hill/Getty Images)
(Taylor Hill/Getty Images)

The lawsuit also names the transit bureau of the New York Police Department and the Guardian Association of the NYPD as co-defendants. 

The three-page summons reported by The Messenger did not reveal specific details of the alleged assault. 

New York civil court permits a plaintiff to file a summons with legal notice to trigger a lawsuit which will be followed by a full complaint with details of the allegations. 

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New York Mayor Eric Adams speaking

Adams is accused of sexual misconduct in a new lawsuit filed Wednesday. City Hall has denied the allegations.  (Lev Radin/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images)

The plaintiff’s attorney did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The court filing was made under the Adult Survivors Act, a 2022 law signed by Gov. Kathy Hochul which allows victims of sexual offenses for which the statute of limitations has passed to file civil lawsuits against their alleged abusers for a one-year period. The summons naming Adams was filed just a day before the Nov. 24 deadline.

The controversial New York law opened a floodgate of lawsuits against famous men accused of sexual misconduct, including former President Donald Trump, rapper Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs and actor and comedian Russell Brand. 

More than 2,500 lawsuits have been filed during the one-year period, some of which have targeted employers, or institutions such as hospitals, accused of failing to do enough to stop abuse by doctors or other workers. The large majority, though, have been filed against the state, New York City and local counties and involve allegations of abuse at state prisons and local jail systems.

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Kathy Hochul speaks at the state Capitol in New York

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul speaking at the state Capitol, Feb. 1, 2023, in Albany, New York. Hochul in 2022 signed a law that greatly expanded the ability of adult sexual assault survivors to field lawsuits against their alleged abusers.  ((AP Photo/Hans Pennink, File))

The act was modeled after a previous New York law offering people abused as children a temporary window to file claims. By the time the Child Victims Act’s two-year window closed in August 2021, almost 11,000 people filed lawsuits, many involving the Roman Catholic Church.

Adams, a 22-year veteran of the NYPD who achieved the rank of captain, was elected mayor of New York in 2021. 

He is currently the subject of an FBI probe for allegedly pressuring FDNY officials to open a Manhattan skyrise that now serves as the Turkish consulate before Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan visited New York City to attend the United Nations General Assembly, despite safety concerns about the structure. 

Federal authorities have not publicly disclosed the nature of the FBI’s probe into New York City politics, and City Hall Chief Counsel Lisa Zornberg told reporters on Tuesday, “my expectation is that any improper leaks by federal law enforcement officers will be fully investigated by federal law enforcement.” 

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The FBI seized cellphones and electronics from Adams last week. Last month, FBI agents searched the Brooklyn home of Adams’ top campaign fundraiser, Brianna Suggs, prompting the mayor to cancel a planned trip to meet with White House officials in Washington and instead return to New York. 

Adams has denied any wrongdoing. 

Fox News’ Danielle Wallace and the Associated Press contributed to this report.