High-profile criminal justice reform advocate Adam Foss has been indicted on charges that he raped a 25-year-old woman in a New York City hotel room while she slept, District Attorney Alvin Bragg announced on Tuesday.
Foss, 42, a former Massachusetts prosecutor who gained national attention with a 2016 TED Talk about criminal justice reform, exchanged texts and calls for about a month with the woman he met at a conference before the two spent the night together at a Midtown Manhattan hotel in 2017.
The woman repeatedly declined Foss’s advances, but said he raped her after she fell asleep, Manhattan prosecutors allege. She later came forward with the allegations which prompted an investigation.
‘I thank this brave survivor, who had the courage to come forward and share her story,’ Bragg said in a written statement on Tuesday.
‘Our Special Victims Division is survivor-centered and trauma-informed, and we encourage anyone who believes they have been the victim of a sex crime to call our Hotline at 212-335-9373. Our prosecutors, investigators, and service providers are available to help.’
Foss, who is now a Los Angeles resident, was indicted Tuesday in Manhattan Supreme Court on charges of first-degree rape and sexual abuse.
Adam Foss, 42, is arraigned in Manhattan Supreme Court on Tuesday for raping a woman while she slept in a Midtown Manhattan hotel room in October 2017
Foss, a former Massachusetts prosecutor, is now a Los Angeles resident, and was indicted Tuesday in Manhattan Supreme Court on charges of first-degree rape and sexual abuse
Allegations of misconduct against Foss surfaced in 2020, when a writer and singer published a blog post that accused Foss of raping her after the two met at a conference.
In the blog post, the author detailed meeting Foss, their exchange of texts and calls and multiple meet-ups, including a night she woke up to Foss having sex with her in a Midtown Manhattan hotel room.
Her post prompted Suffolk County District Attorney Rachael Rollins to launch an independent investigation into Foss’ behavior during his time as a prosecutor.
But the report concluded that while Foss had shown ‘troubling’ behavior with young interns, it did not rise to a criminal level.
The New York indictment on Tuesday is the first time Foss is facing criminal charges stemming from his alleged misconduct, Insider reported.
The author of the blog post declined to comment on the indictment Tuesday.
A blog post published by a possible accuser prompted Suffolk County District Attorney Rachael Rollins to launch an independent investigation into Foss’ behavior during his time as a prosecutor (Foss pictured in 2018)
The New York indictment on Tuesday is the first time Foss is facing criminal charges stemming from his alleged misconduct (Foss in 2016)
Foss gained national attention with his 2016 TED Talk about criminal justice reform that has been viewed more than 2 million times.
He even caught the attention of singer John Legend back in 2015, when Legend and his organization, Free America, were working on a public awareness campaign about criminal prosecutors.
In the blog post that prompted the allegations, the survivor who described her alleged rape, said that Foss had name-checked John Legend when they first met.
‘He radiated charisma. I’d never heard of him, but a quick google told me he was Adam John Foss, an ex-prosecutor whose 2016 TED Talk had over 2 million views He’d worked with John Legend,’ the author wrote. ‘Cool, I thought.’
Foss founded the nonprofit Prosecutor Impact in 2016 with the mission of ‘improving community safety in the United States through a better understanding of the most important actor in the criminal justice system: the criminal prosecutor.’
As part of the campaign, John Legend used his considerably wider reach to shine a light on ‘progressive prosecutors,’ Adam Foss among them.
But following the news of the allegations, singer John Legend took to social media to apologize to the alleged sexual assault victims of Adam Foss.
He issued a mea culpa for ‘elevating’ Foss back in 2015.
‘In 2015 we (my org @freeamerica, @tystiklorius and I) helped elevate Adam John Foss and the concept of progressive prosecutors,’ Legend wrote in a series of tweets. ‘I later learned that he used his platform to harm women.’
Mea culpa: John Legend (left) apologized in 2021 to the alleged sexual assault victims of former Massachusetts prosecutor turned criminal justice reform advocate Adam Foss (right)
‘He used my name and association to gain credibility, and while we are committed to a world where people’s lives aren’t defined by their mistakes, it’s unacceptable to use one’s power and influence to harm women,’ the singer-songwriter continued, adding: ‘We are so sorry to all of the women he has harmed.’
Many of John’s followers on the platform responded with appreciation for not only apologizing but for believing the women who have raised the accusations of sexual assault.
Legend took to Twitter in 2021 to issue an apology for ‘elevating’ Foss back when Legend and his organization, Free America, were working on a public awareness campaign about criminal prosecutors
A stand up guy: Many of John’s followers on the platform responded with thanks for not only apologizing but for believing the women who have raised the accusations of sexual assault
In response to the news he was under investigation back in 2021, Foss issued a statement at the time denying the accusations, per reporting by WBUR.
‘Some of my callous and insensitive behavior has caused many people anguish, but I deny any allegations of nonconsensual sexual relations,’ he said in his statement.
‘With respect to District Attorney Rachael Rollins’ recent statement referencing a pending investigation, I do not wish to compromise that process by commenting further. In addition, this is a more appropriate time for me to listen than to speak,’ he continued.