The alleged incident involved Adams masturbating in front of her after she rejected his advances. This accusation forms the basis of a $5 million lawsuit filed on Monday.
This lawsuit adds to the ongoing turmoil surrounding Adams' tenure as mayor. The first-term mayor is currently under investigation by the FBI for allegedly assisting the Turkish government in circumventing the city's fire code to construct a 35-story diplomatic facility. In November, federal agents raided the Bronx home of Adams' top fundraiser and confiscated Adams' phones and iPad as part of the investigation. Adams, who served as a captain in the NYPD, was elected to the New York State Senate after his retirement in 2006 and became mayor in 2021.
Megan Goddard, the attorney representing the accuser, Lorna Beach-Mathura, expressed her admiration for her client's courage. In an email statement to The Daily Beast, she said, "I am proud to file this complaint on behalf of my client, a woman whose strength astonishes me." She added that despite the personal challenges Beach-Mathura knew she would face, she filed the lawsuit because she believes sexual abusers must be held accountable, regardless of their status.
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When the initial summons was filed and the basic allegations were revealed, Adams, a Democrat, vehemently denied the accusations. "It absolutely did not happen," he stated in November. "I don’t recall ever meeting this person and I would never harm anyone in that magnitude. It did not happen. 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.”
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According to the complaint, Beach-Mathura, a former police administrative aide, approached Adams in 1993 at their stationhouse for assistance with a "workplace issue." She was up for a promotion that seemed to have stalled, and she hoped Adams, then a Transit Police officer and president of the Guardians Association, a fraternal organization for Black cops, could help. The complaint alleges that Adams took advantage of her vulnerability and acted as a predator rather than the "guardian" he claimed to be.
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The complaint details that Adams offered to drive Beach-Mathura home so they could discuss her issue. However, the situation took a turn for the worse during the drive. Adams allegedly pulled over without explanation and then placed Beach-Mathura's hand on his penis. When she refused his demand for oral sex, Adams allegedly masturbated and ejaculated on her. He then left her at a subway station instead of driving her home as promised.
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The complaint describes the incident as an "astonishing abuse of power" and states that Beach-Mathura, a single mother of two, felt there was no safe way to report the incident at the time. When Adams later ran for mayor, his campaign speeches struck Beach-Mathura as "hypocritical and sanctimonious." As a result, when the Adult Survivors Act was enacted, she felt compelled to expose Adams' behavior.
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The lawsuit was filed in the New York State Supreme Court four months after Goddard filed a summons on Beach-Mathura's behalf under the Adult Survivors Act (ASA). The ASA provides a one-year "lookback window" for sexual assault victims to bring claims that would have otherwise expired under the statute of limitations. Beach-Mathura announced her intention to sue about a week before the window closed.
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The ASA has been used to hold several high-profile individuals accountable, including former President Donald Trump, disgraced Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein, and ex-New York Governor Andrew Cuomo. Following the filing of Beach-Mathura's summons, Trump criticized the ASA on social media, calling it "totally unfair and UNCONSTITUTIONAL."
In addition to Adams, Beach-Mathura's lawsuit also names the NYPD, the Guardians Association, and three "unknown entities" as defendants. This is a developing story and will be updated as more information becomes available.
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