Maeve Bidonde, Staff Writer
On Wednesday, Nov. 22, a three page summons was filed about an alarming accusation about New York City’s Mayor Eric Adams. It reveals New York City’s mayor sexually assaulted a woman back in 1993. “The three-page filing does not contain details of the alleged assault but names Adams, the transit bureau of the New York Police Department and the New York Police Department Guardians Association as defendants,” states an AP News article. The summons was filed with the Supreme Court in Manhattan, mentioning that the assault happened when the plaintiff and Mayor Adams both worked for the city in 1993. The plaintiff wanted a trial and $5 million in relief.
“It absolutely did not happen. I don’t recall ever meeting this person and I would never harm anyone in that magnitude. It did not happen,” said Adams in a video posted by a reporter to X, formerly known as Twitter. “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 it’s just something that never took place.” It comes as a shock to New Yorkers that their mayor would ever be accused of such a violent act. Especially now, after his election into office. But there are some who try not to turn a blind eye. Recalling the scandal involving former President Clinton when he denied ever having relations with Monica Lewinsky back in the late 1990s.
The lawsuit itself was filed under the Adult Survivors Act which provided a year long extension on the statute of limitations for crimes of this kind. This law paved the way for over 2,500 suits against other powerful men such as Donald Trump, Hip Hop sensation Sean “Diddy” Combs, and actor/comedian Russell Brand. And, among these notable names, the lead sing of Gun N’ Roses Axl Rose has also had a case brought against him for sexual assault. Sean Combs reached a settlement with his accuser Cassandra Ventura the day after the suit was filed. As for Trump, his accuser Jean E. Carroll won her case when the jury found the former president liable for the 1996 assault.
But questions have begun to raise whether or not the plaintiff can be reliable in her story. According to The New York Times, this lawsuit is not the plaintiff’s first lawsuit. “In 2008, she sued American Airlines, arguing that an employee had caused her to fall out of a wheelchair, injuring her back. After four days of trial, a jury decided in favor of the airline.” The article even goes as far as to mention a few other lawsuits made by the plaintiff in the past. In 2009, the plaintiff sued the Miami-Dade Public School District claiming she was attacked by a student and wanted compensation. She lost, like before, lost the trial and appealed parts of the decision to the Florida Supreme court where she won procedural motions but not a retrial.
The plaintiff’s most recent lawsuit happened last year, filing a complaint about a Florida casino. “The company was negligent in maintaining its facilities after a patron fell against her with such force that she feared ‘she was under ‘demonic attack,’” according to the lawsuit. This case has remained unresolved. This pattern of lawsuits doesn’t put the accuser under good lighting and has already been called into speculation. If Mayor Adams must face trial, a deeper investigation by lawyers and police is expected to be made into the accuracy of the plaintiff’s stories. If proven false, the plaintiff will face serious conflicts in the eyes of the law and the general public. As of right now, the investigation into the accuser’s story is still underway.
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