Eric Adams sued for sexually assaulting woman in 1993; accuser wants $5M

Mayor Eric Adams has been accused of sexually assaulting a woman in 1993 in a lawsuit seeking at least $5 million filed just before the deadline for the Adult Survivors Act, The Post learned Thursday.

The accuser, whom The Post is not identifying because of the nature of the allegation, named Adams as a defendant along with the NYPD’s transit bureau and Guardian Association in a lawsuit filed late Wednesday.

Adams was an NYPD officer at the time and the filing said the woman also worked for the city.

“Plaintiff was sexually assaulted by Defendant Eric Adams in New York, New York in 1993 while they both worked for the City of New York,” claims the 3-page summons, which does not give more detail on the alleged assault.

The filing alleges “sexual assault, battery and employment discrimination on the basis of the Plaintiff’s gender and sex, retaliation, hostile work environment and intentional infliction of emotional distress” — and seeks damages no less than $5 million along with attorneys’ fees.

Attempts to reach the accuser were not immediately successful Thursday, and her attorney did not respond to messages.

Sources told The Post that there were no immediately available records of the woman working for the NYPD.

Adams addressed the lawsuit before one of his Thanksgiving arrangements, saying: “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.”

City Hall was also quick to deny the allegations, first revealed by The Messenger.

“The mayor does not know who this person is,” a spokesperson said. “If they ever met, he doesn’t recall it.

“But he would never do anything to physically harm another person and vigorously denies any such claim.”

Still, it is another headache for Adams, who is already suffering plummeting approval ratings as well as a federal probe of his campaign’s fundraising and his plan to impose unpopular budget cuts.

“This is certainly unwelcome information for Adams. He doesn’t need any more bad news given his declining poll numbers,” Marist College polling director Lee Miringoff said Thursday.

“It’s an unwelcome headline at a time when he doesn’t need it. He doesn’t have a reservoir of support to fall back on.”

Sonia Ossorio, the New York City director of the National Organization of Women, stressed that “we have to trust the court will give a fair hearing to the case.”

But “it’s not a welcome development,” she said. “This case adds to the issue the mayor is facing. We need the mayor to be laser-focused on issues important to New York City.”

Court records show Adams’ accuser has previously filed a lawsuit against the School Board of Miami which was dismissed in 2010 and attempted to sue American Airlines the same year, but lost the case. A lawsuit she filed against a Florida casino in 2022 was also dismissed by a judge.

The Adult Survivors Act, signed into law by Gov. Kathy Hochul in May last year, removed the usual time constraints to sue over alleged sexual assaults for a one-year period, opening the floodgates for a torrent of civil lawsuits against powerful men, including former President Donald Trump and Bill Cosby.

At least 2,600 claims have been filed in state courts under the ASA, including several lawsuits brought this week against such high-profile defendants as Guns N’ Roses frontman Axl Rose, Academy Award winner Cuba Gooding Jr. and celebrity photographer Terry Richardson.

Adams, 63, has never been married but has a 27-year-old son, rapper Jordan Coleman, with his ex-girlfriend, Chrisena Coleman.

Coleman, 59, and Adams split up when their son was still a toddler.

Adams is currently in a relationship with Tracey Collins, senior adviser to the NYC Department of Education’s deputy chancellor of leadership, who is considered the de facto first lady of the Big Apple.

With additional reporting by Joe Marino