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‘Astonishing Abuse Of Power’: New Court Filing Details Sexual Misconduct Allegations Against Eric Adams

New York City Mayor Eric Adams Small Business Week Kickoff Brooklyn New York 2022. Photo: Anthony Quintano

New details emerged on Monday surrounding New York City Mayor Eric Adams’ alleged sexual assault against a woman decades ago.

Accusations against Adams were first made in late November in a lawsuit filed by an anonymous plaintiff, who at the time did not share details of the alleged incident. The plaintiff is Lorna Beach-Mathura, who is accusing the mayor of requesting sexual favors from her while they both worked at the New York City Police Department in 1993, in a new court filing on Monday.

“Defendant Adams preyed on her perceived vulnerability, demanding a quid pro quo sexual favor and sexually assaulting Plaintiff, revealing himself not to be the ‘Guardian’ he purported to be, but a predator,” reads the court filing on Monday.

Beach-Mathura alleges that while she was working for the NYPD in 1993, she approached Adams, at the time the head of the Transit Bureau NPYD Guardians Association, an organization representing African Americans. She asked Adams for his help as she had recently been snubbed for a promotion.

Adams agreed to help and offered to drive her home; along the way, he stopped in “a vacant lot and request[ed] oral sex from her,” according to the court filings. After she refused, he took her hand and put it on his “erect penis,” prompting her to pull away.

Adams then “masturbated himself” and “ejaculated on her,” according to the court filing. Beach-Mathura was “repulsed” by Adams’ actions and “was relieved when he zipped up his pants and started the car,” noting that he was “angry at her for refusing his sexual demands.”

Beach-Mathura did not file a complaint against Adams at the time because she thought there “was no way to safely report” the assault, according to the court filing.

“The effects of that sexual assault, betrayal, and astonishing abuse of power, continue to haunt [Beach-Mathura] to this day,” the court filing reads.

Adams vehemently denies Beach-Mathura’s accusations or having known her at the time of the alleged incident.

“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 O. Hinds-Radix told Courthouse News in a statement on Monday. “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.”

“It did not happen. That’s not who I am. That’s not who I am in my professional life. It’s just something that never took place,” he said when the lawsuit was first filed in November, according to the New York Post.

Adams’ office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.