Stringer Accuser Files Formal Complaint With New York State

(Bloomberg) -- Jean Kim, who has accused New York City Comptroller Scott Stringer of groping her without consent in 2001, has filed a formal complaint with the state attorney general’s office.

Kim is alleging sexual abuse and harassment by Stringer, a candidate for mayor, while he was a state assemblyman running for public advocate. She “will participate fully with the OAG in any investigation it conducts into this matter,” attorney Patricia Pastor said Tuesday in an e-mailed statement.

Stringer, 61, has denied the allegations and said the two had a consensual relationship. His campaign has circulated a number of documents accusing her of lying and questioning her motives.

“We welcome examination of this false allegation by any independent third party, whether that be a government agency or journalist,” Stringer spokesman Tyrone Stevens said.

Kim, a one-time Stringer volunteer worker, made her allegations less than two months before the city’s June 22 primary election. Stringer is among several Democrats competing to be their party’s mayoral nominee, a vote that likely will decide the winner of the November general election in the heavily Democratic city.

In his defense, Stringer has pointed to city Board of Elections petitions that Kim circulated earlier this year on behalf of Andrew Yang, a rival for the mayoral nomination who has been running in first place in recent polls. Stringer has consistently run third, behind Yang and Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams. The petitions carried the names of three other office-seekers, and Kim’s attorney has said they were intended to help a friend and neighbor who was running for Democratic district leader.

The allegations came after Stringer appeared to be picking up momentum with endorsements from the Working Families Party and the United Federation of Teachers. After Kim’s allegations, the Working Families Party withdrew its support, as did several others, including UCFW Local 1500, which represents grocery store workers, and State Senator Jessica Ramos, an early backer.

The 100,000-member UFT continues to support him. On Monday, Stringer picked up support from Teamsters Local 237, which represents thousands of city workers in public housing and hospitals as well as school-crossing guards.

The office of Attorney General Letitia James confirmed that it had received the complaint.

James has opened a separate investigation into several women’s accusations against Governor Andrew Cuomo alleging sexual harassment, intimidation and abuse, and more recent charges that he used his publicly paid staff to help him write a memoir about his handling of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Both of those probes were prompted by referrals -- from the governor himself, who agreed to an independent law firm to assist in evaluating the women’s complaints, and from state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli about the preparation of the book.

©2021 Bloomberg L.P.