Stringer denies sex abuse allegations by woman saying he wants to 'set the record straight'

NEW YORK - NYC Comptroller and mayoral candidate Scott Stringer said the allegations by a former campaign volunteer of sexual abuse are untrue.

"They are false allegations and I am here to set the record straight as best I can," said Stringer during 'Good Day New York.'

Speaking on the FOX 5 NY morning program a day after his accuser, Jean Kim, detailed the alleged assault, Stringer said that he had a consensual relationship with Kim.

Kim said Stringer repeatedly groped her in the early 2000s.

"And demanded to know why I wouldn't have sex with him," said Kim during a news conference.

"Jean was part of volunteers, friends in our local Democratic club. She volunteered as an adult, as a professional in my campaign as did all my friends," Stringer said. "She was never an intern in any capacity. Never paid by the campaign as an intern or unpaid intern. She never worked in my office."

Kim, who is in her 40s, has worked as a publicist, lobbyist, and political consultant. She said she was telling her story now because seeing Stringer campaign for mayor as a champion for women "sickens me when I know the truth."

Their relationship began as a friendship and then "became a little more."

Kim has alleged that Stringer tried to buy her silence.

"Until yesterday, we had never had a discussion even remotely related to those allegations," added Stringer.

He said they remained on amicable terms until she sought a role in his 2013 campaign for comptroller and he "could not find a role for her."

Stringer, who turns 61 on Thursday, has been in elected office since he joined the state Assembly in 1993.

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He has campaigned as a champion of women's rights and has called on Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo to resign over sexual misconduct allegations against him.

Three women lawmakers who have endorsed Stringer's mayoral campaign said in a statement Wednesday that they "believe survivors."

Democratic state Sens. Alessandra Biaggi and Julia Salazar and Assemblymember Yuh-Line Niou said, "Our commitment to a harassment-free government, workplace and society is steadfast, and our zero-tolerance standard regarding sexual assault applies to abusers like Andrew Cuomo, if not more so, to our friends."

Stringer is one of more than a dozen Democratic contenders in the mayoral race, in which the large field is trying to overcome the early name recognition of Andrew Yang, the former presidential candidate.

Others include Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams, Maya Wiley, a former MSNBC analyst and legal counsel to Mayor Bill de Blasio, and former Citigroup executive Raymond McGuire.

The party primary is June 22.

With The Associated Press