New York, USA

Mayor Eric Adams on Monday (Mar 18) was accused by a former New York City employee of sexual assault in 1993 when both worked for the municipal transit police bureau. Lorna Beach-Mathura filed a 26-page civil complaint in a state court in Manhattan, in which she claimed the assault took place in Adams’s car when he offered her to ride home to discuss her career problems.

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Mathura said she had gone to Adams to seek help in navigating a career problem and hostile environment at the workplace because of his role at the time as both a police department officer and leader in the NYPD Guardians Association, a fraternal group advocating equality and fair treatment for Black employees.

The Democratic leader has vehemently denied the allegations and said through his lawyers that he doesn’t even remember meeting the woman.

What happened in the car, as per suit?

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As per the lawsuit, Adams agreed to help the woman but said he “also needed some help.” Then Adams allegedly demanded oral s*x from Lorna Beach-Mathura. When she refused, Adams allegedly exposed himself and masturbated.

“Adams preyed on her perceived vulnerability, demanding a quid pro quo sexual favor,” the suit states, “revealing himself not to be the ‘Guardian’ he purported to be, but a predator.”

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The lawsuit was filed under the Adult Survivors Act, a New York law that extended the statute of limitations for filing sexual assault lawsuits. The woman initially submitted her claim last November, just before the law's deadline, without providing any specifics about the purported assault.

Response from Adams

A spokesperson for Adams provided a statement attributed to the city’s corporation counsel, Sylvia O. Hinds-Radix, which described the allegations as “ludicrous.”

“While we review the complaint, the mayor fully denies these outrageous allegations and the events described here,” the statement read. “We expect full vindication in court.”

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“I don’t recall ever meeting this person and I would never harm anyone in that magnitude,” Adams said last fall. “It did not happen, and that is not who I am and that is not who I’ve ever been in my professional life and, you know, it’s just something that never took place,” he added.

(With inputs from agencies)