New York City Comptroller and current Mayoral candidate Scott Stringer was accused of sexual assault by a former campaign intern on Wednesday.
Jean Kim said Stringer, a Democrat, assaulted her when she worked for his campaign 20 years ago.
Jean Kim
Stringer denied the allegations and said he had an “on-and-off” consensual relationship with his accuser.
“First, I want to make it clear that I unequivocally condemn sexual harassment of any kind. Sexual harassment is unacceptable,” Stringer said at a presser on Wednesday alongside his wife.
“This isn’t me,” Stringer said. “I am going to fight for the truth, because these allegations are false. The behavior described is inaccurate, and completely antithetical to the way I have conducted my life.”
Jean Kim spoke out publicly on Wednesday as well and asserted Stringer “inappropriately and relentlessly pursued a sexual relationship” with her and asked her more than once, “Why won’t you f—k me?”
“One evening, shortly before the primary, I was talking to Stringer about the primary when without warning, and without my consent, he kissed me using his tongue, put his hand down my pants and groped me inside my underpants,” Kim claimed, according to The New York Post.
“I pulled away and tried to avoid him. He warned me not to tell anyone about it,” she said.
The New York Post reported:
The comptroller said he met Kim in the late 1990s and that she “supported and donated to my campaign for public advocate, beginning as early as 1999.”
“She was a peer, she was not — absolutely not — an intern on the campaign. Our internship program was made up of college students. She was not part of that,” said Stringer.
Stringer said, “Jean was, as I recall, employed at the time as a publicist. She was an active supporter of the campaign.”
Stringer claimed that Kim “has never worked for me in any capacity” and that they were “friends for a period of years.”
“For a several-month period around the time of the campaign, we had an on-and-off relationship over a few months. She was 30 and I was 41. The relationship started and ended before I met my wife, Elyse,” said Stringer, who is now 60.
“I believe it was a mutual, consensual relationship. I never used any force, made any threats, or did any of the things that are alleged,” said Stringer, explaining that he and Kim “maintained an amicable relationship for many years afterwards, until 2013, when we could not find her a role on my campaign for comptroller.”
“I understand how painful it is to hear these allegations, but I urge everyone, including my supporters, to treat Ms. Kim respectfully and courteously. Any behavior to the contrary does not represent me or my campaign. I firmly believe every person must be treated with respect and dignity,” he said.
Not too long ago, Stringer was singing a different tune and said all sexual assault survivors must be believed.
Recall, Stringer attacked Brett Kavanaugh over decades-old, uncorroborated accusations of sexual assault and denounced his confirmation to the Supreme Court.
“I want my two young boys to know that real power – the kind that matters – lies in recognizing each other’s full humanity. And we can’t do that without believing the brave survivors who come forward,” Stringer said in a 2018 statement denouncing the confirmation of Brett Kavanaugh.