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NY Post
New York Post
6 Jun 2023


NextImg:NY Assemblyman Juan Ardila denies sex abuse allegations after two-month silence

ALBANY – Accused sex abuser Assemblyman Juan Ardila (D-Queens) is emphatically denying allegations of sexual misconduct by two women after previously suggesting he was no longer disputing their claims.

“I did not sexually abuse anyone or engage in any sexual assault,” Ardila said in a statement following the release of a 38-page report he commissioned into the allegations.

The two women are sticking to their stories that Ardila touched them without consent at a 2015 party with one of the women claiming he exposed himself as well, according to the Daily News.

But a report that includes his side of the story, gives the freshman legislator much-needed ammunition in his ongoing battle for political survival two months after he responded to the allegations with a series of conflicting statements – and then silence.

“I grow more disgusted by Juan Ardila every single day. Juan’s recent comments and his self-funded, ‘independent report’ continue to demonstrate his utter lack of remorse and his pathological hatred toward women,” New York City Councilwoman Julie Won (D-Queens), who is among the elected officials calling on the state rep to resign.

“Juan Ardila must stop holding our community’s Assembly seat hostage in his delusional need for power.”

New York Assemblyman Juan Ardila has denied sexual misconduct allegations made against him by two women.
JuanArdilaNYS/Twitter

Claiming that Won has a political vendetta against him, Ardila initially said he did not “even know what this is” when first contacted by the Queens Chronicle before the local newspaper revealed the women’s claims on March 13.

The self-described progressive then took a contrite approach to the allegations in a March 14 statement.

“I make no excuse for my past behavior and have spent a great deal of time carefully reflecting on this. My obligation right now is to listen and respect those who come forward, not to debate the facts,” he said.

Ardila's statement came after a report he commissioned on the allegations was released.

Ardila’s statement came after a report he commissioned on the allegations was released.
Zach Williams / NY Post

Now he claims the time for arguing has begun now that two months have passed when he refused to elaborate whatsoever on the claims, including in a one-sided interview with the New York Post in mid-April.

The report prepared for Ardila, who claims he paid for it with personal funds, by the law firm Buchanan Ingersoll and Rooney does not conclude that he did not inappropriately touch either of the women while questioning their credibility.

Buchanan interviewed several people who were present at the 2015 gathering of approximately 20 people with some of them recalling seeing Ardila or the two women – neither of whom has been publicly identified – after the alleged incidents occurred with no outward sign that anything had gone wrong.

But none of those witnesses say they saw Ardila interact with either woman, leaving the truth of the matter up to the competing claims of two women against an embattled legislator with an ever-changing approach to explaining what happened that night.

Ardila claims he kissed both women that night but insisted it was consensual yet several details in the report seemingly suggest the women exaggerated the incidents, invited sexual attention or otherwise misinterpreted the incident despite claims to the contrary.

This includes Ardila’s claim that the first woman wore a “Playboy bunny costume” to the party and “did not seem drunk” while they interacted with her.

“Mr. Ardila believed that [her] request … was an invitation for more intimate contact, but a friend of the woman then ‘c—kblocked’ him, recalls a staffer,” according to the report.

The report paid for by Ardila did not conclude that he inappropriately touched either woman.

The report paid for by Ardila did not conclude that he inappropriately touched either woman.
Twitter / @JuanArdilaNYS

Ardila also claimed that his kiss with the second woman was consensual because there was “definitely some chemistry between them” while denying that he exposed himself.

The beleaguered state rep said that the only reason he did not deny the allegations from the get-go was bad advice from former political allies like the Working Families Party, which is now calling for resignation.

“This despicable report, taking back his modicum of accountability and further harming the women he admitted were victims of his behavior shows what many of us knew to be true three months ago,” Erica Vladimer, co-founder of the Sexual Harassment Working Group established by former legislative staffers, tweeted following the report’s release Monday evening.

“He cannot be trusted, will do anything to hold on to power, and is not fit to hold office.”