Jamie Foxx, Diddy, Axl Rose… Why sexual assault complaints against stars are increasing in New York

Numerous celebrities have been the subject of sexual assault complaints in recent hours in New York State.

This is the consequence of a local law which gave alleged victims one year to appear in court.

The city’s Democratic mayor Eric Adams is also among the personalities implicated before the deadline.

The actors Jamie Foxx and Cuba Gooding Jr, the rocker Axl Rose, the rapper-producer Diddy… An unprecedented wave of complaints for sexual assault has hit several prominent personalities in recent days in New York. Mayor of the city for two years, Democrat Eric Adams also appears in this spectacular list which is the result of an unprecedented law: the New York Adult Survivor Act.

Until 2019, alleged victims of sexual assault had three years to file a civil lawsuit in New York State. In the wake of the #MeToo movement and the freedom of speech, victims’ defense associations have obtained that the limitation period be extended to 20 years. Except that it was not retroactive.

More than 2,500 complaints in one year

In the spring of 2022, Democratic Governor Kathy Hochuls therefore agreed to pass the New York Adult Survivor Act, a law opening a one-year window, from November 24, 2022 to November 24, 2023, to appear before the courts and file a complaint. It was inspired by a similar text which allowed the filing of 11,000 complaints for sexual assault on minors between August 2020 and August 2021.

For the plaintiffs, the window closed a few hours ago. And unless there is a financial agreement like the one Diddy made with singer Cassie last week, sensational trials could multiply in the coming months. The rapper himself could be concerned since a second complaint was filed Thursday by a woman who claims to have been drugged and raped by the star when she was a student in 1991. Friday, TMZ reported a third complaint for facts dating back to the same period.

A law that made it possible to convict Trump

According to American media, more than 2,500 complaints were filed in the space of a year in New York courts. The most publicized to date is that filed at the very beginning of the entry into force of the law by former journalist E. Jean Carroll against Donald Trump for a sexual assault committed… in the fitting room from the lingerie section of a department store in 1996. The former president was ordered to pay $5 million in damages last May.

The complaint filed against Mayor Eric Adams proves, if necessary, that the New York Adult Survivor Act spares no side. The complainant, who prefers to remain anonymous for the moment, denounces facts dating back to 1993 when they both worked for the city of New York. She is demanding a trial and $5 million in damages. “I would never hurt anyone. This did not happen“, the city councilor reacted soberly.

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While accusations against showbiz celebrities and high-profile political figures make headlines and excite the general public, most of the complaints filed in recent months concern the state of New York itself. And the prison system in particular since half come from women who claim to have been raped while serving a prison sentence.