Mayor Eric Adams accused of sexual assault when he was police officer more than 30 years ago
A former police officer detailed her alleged sexual assault encounter with New York City Mayor Eric Adams in a court filing, claiming he masturbated in front of her in 1993.
The $5 million lawsuit filed at the New York Supreme Court on Monday centers on allegations that Adams sexually assaulted a woman named Lorna Beach-Mathura more than 30 years ago.
Beach-Mathura filed a legal summons under the Adult Survivors Act, which permits survivors of sexual misconduct to bring lawsuits inside a one-year window that would normally be barred by the statute of limitations.
“I am proud to file this complaint on behalf of my client, a woman whose strength astonishes me,” Megan Goddard, a lawyer for Beach-Mathura, told the Daily Beast. “She knew that filing this lawsuit would cause her significant personal challenges but she did so nevertheless, because she believes sexual abusers must be held to account, no matter who they are. Her fearlessness and quest for justice are as inspiring as they are important.”
Beach-Mathura claimed she had approached Adams for help getting answers on why her workplace promotion had stalled. The mayor, then a transit police officer who was president of the Guardians Association, agreed to help her when she got off work.
Adams allegedly offered to drive Beach-Mathura home after work, but instead of helping her, Adams allegedly used her hand to touch himself inappropriately, demanded that she give him oral sex, and masturbated in front of her when she rejected him.
The lawsuit claims that instead of being the hero he pretended to be, Adams had revealed himself to be a “predator.”
Adams denied the allegations when they first surfaced in November, and his legal team told the Washington Examiner he “fully denies” the allegations in the complaint.
“While we review the complaint, the mayor fully denies these outrageous allegations and the events described here; we expect full vindication in court,” New York City Corporation Counsel Sylvia Hinds-Radix 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.”
Beach-Mathura said she filed the suit 30 years later because the mayor’s comments on the campaign trail felt “hypocritical and sanctimonious,” and she felt “obligated to bring … Adams’s behavior to light” when the opportunity presented itself, according to the complaint.
Other key New Yorkers have also been targeted under the Adult Survivors Act, including former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, Harvey Weinstein, and former President Donald Trump.
-Washington Examiner
