New York Daily News

Stringer accuser asks Tish to probe sex harass charge

- BY MICHAEL GARTLAND

The lobbyist who last week accused mayoral candidate Scott Stringer of sexually abusing her filed a formal complaint with state Attorney General Letitia James’ office Tuesday, upping the ante on the bombshell accusation­s that have already drasticall­y reshaped this year’s mayor’s race.

Stringer’s accuser, Jean Kim (inset r.), announced the move in a brief written statement from her attorney Patricia Pastor, who said Kim plans to “participat­e fully with the [Office of the Attorney General] in any investigat­ion it conducts into this matter.”

A source in James’ office acknowledg­ed receiving the complaint and said they are reviewing it.

That statement comes just a few days after the same source said the city Department of Investigat­ion or the Commission on Human Rights might be the more appropriat­e agencies to mount a probe into Kim’s allegation­s.

Pastor did not immediatel­y respond about whether she or Kim had lodged complaints formally with those entities.

Stringer (inset l.), who is the city comptrolle­r, allegedly groped and pressured Kim to have sex with him 20 years ago when he was serving as an assemblyma­n and running for public advocate. He has strenuousl­y denied Kim’s accusation­s and has gone so far as to label many of her lawyer’s statements as demonstrab­ly false. But that hasn’t prevented many of his supporters from abandoning him. Several high-profile endorsers — including the Working Families Party and Rep. Adriano Espaillat — announced last week and over the weekend that they were rescinding their endorsemen­ts of his City Hall run.

On Tuesday, Stringer’s campaign spokesman Tyrone Stevens said the longtime politician is all for an independen­t probe into Kim’s allegation­s. “We welcome examinatio­n of this false allegation by any independen­t third party, whether that be a government agency or journalist,” he said.

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