'He preys on vulnerable women': Queens Assemblyman Ardila accused of sexual assault, issues apology via queenspost
Assemblyman Juan Ardila, who represents the western Queens neighborhoods of Sunnyside, Woodside, Long Island City, Ridgewood and Maspeth, speaking at Sunnyside Community Services in 2022 Freshman Assemblyman Juan Ardila, who represents western Queens, faced political fallout Tuesday after being accused of sexual assault by two women—allegations that the lawmaker did not refute when asked for comment.
The women were both seniors at Fordham University’s Lincoln Center campus at the time of the party. Ardila had graduated from the university in the spring and had just started working for Brad Lander, who was a councilmember at the time. Neither woman had ever spoken to Ardila prior to the night of the party.
“I find Juan’s statement to be deeply troubling and dismissive of the harm he has caused me and others. His apology—which comes on the heels of his initial denial—rings insincere,” she said. “He blames the assault on youthful indiscretion during college and I find this both dismissive and insulting. Sexual assault is a serious crime, and it is not something that can be excused or explained away by age or circumstances.
She hopes that when AOC and other progressive women who endorsed him—such as Ramos, Councilmember Tiffany Cabán and Assemblymember Catalina Cruz—learn about this incident they will think differently and retract their endorsements. “I was the drunkest person there,” she said. “I remember him being very close to me. I remember him being physical with me,” she said, adding that he was touching her all over.
The next day when she and her friends were discussing the incident, they learned that Ardila also targeted another woman at the party. The message had not been read, since it was in a mailbox for messages sent from Facebook users whom she was not friends with. She combed through about 50 unread messages and saw his.Ardila, however, did successfully contact her when he sent her a message in January 2018 via Instagram during the height of the #MeTooMovement. He apologized for the incident. It was the first time she had heard from him since the 2015 encounter.
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