The Generation, Year: 1, Issue: 12
Brooklyn State Sen. Kevin Parker has been accused of raping a woman who was working with him to coordinate relief efforts for Haiti nearly 20 years ago, according to a new lawsuit.
The lawsuit was filed in Brooklyn Supreme Court on Friday by Olga Jean-Baptiste, who alleges the then-first-term state legislator raped her at her apartment in 2004 after discussing her humanitarian visit to the Caribbean island, which had just been ravaged by catastrophic flooding. Jean-Baptiste, who was 31 at the time, had worked with Parker to gather and deliver necessities to Haiti ahead of her trip. When she returned to the US, Parker had asked if he could visit her apartment to pick up some photos and discuss her work there, according to the suit.
The two sat at Jean-Baptiste’s living room table where they chatted for some time. After Jean-Baptiste gave Parker the photographs, she stood up to say goodbye but the senator suddenly grabbed her by the wrists, she claims in the court doc. “[Jean-Baptiste] was frozen in fear and was unable to cry out,” the lawsuit states.
She then alleges Parker took her “down the hallway of her apartment to her bedroom, made a sexual comment and put her face down on the bed.” Then, he raped her, Jean-Baptiste alleges in the suit. She claims she never consented to any sexual acts. The Post has reached out to Parker’s office and Jean-Baptiste’s attorneys for comment on the lawsuit. Neither immediately responded Sunday night.
A spokesperson for state senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins said that she is aware of the “disturbing” allegations.
“These allegations are extremely disturbing and we take them very seriously and we will continue to monitor this situation and we will take appropriate action as more information is learned,” the spokesperson, Mike Murphy, told The Post in a statement. The lawsuit, first reported by amNY, was filed under New York’s Adult Survivors Act — which is set to expire next week.
The law extended the statute of limitations for one year for sex crimes, allowing victims to sue their abusers in court regardless of when the alleged crime occurred. Typically, survivors have less than five years to bring such claims in civil court.
Source: NBC New York
