Mayor Eric Adams faces lawsuit alleging 1993 sexual assault

March 20, 2024 Robert Abruzzese, Courthouse Editor

Mayor Eric Adams faces a lawsuit alleging he demanded oral sex from a former police colleague in 1993, a claim he denies.
Photo: Eduardo Munoz Alvarez/AP

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A former colleague from the city Transit Police Department, Lorna Beach-Mathura, has initiated a lawsuit against Mayor Eric Adams, claiming he sexually assaulted her in 1993.

According to the complaint, Adams allegedly exposed himself and demanded oral sex in return for assisting Beach-Mathura with a job promotion, an incident said to have occurred in a vacant lot near the Hudson River.

The lawsuit, detailed in a filing in the Manhattan Supreme Court, explains how Adams, then a transit officer and a senior figure in the Guardians Association, supposedly used his position to exploit Beach-Mathura.

After failing to consent to Adams’ demands, Beach-Mathura asserts she was physically assaulted by Adams, who forcibly placed her hand on his genitals. The distressing encounter reportedly ended with Adams masturbating and dropping Beach-Mathura off at a subway station, never addressing her initial request for career assistance.

Hon. Sylvia Hinds-Radix, the NYC corporation counsel representing Adams, refuted the accusations, stating the mayor completely denies these “outrageous allegations.” The lawsuit also implicates the Guardians and the NYPD, accusing them of enabling Adams’ alleged misconduct, seeking $5 million in damages.

This legal action compounds the array of investigations Adams faces, including a federal probe into his 2021 campaign’s financing.

The Adult Survivors Act allows for sexual misconduct claims regardless of when the incident occurred.