BRIDGEPORT–Daniel Suozzi, a founding member of the team that proposed the Hamlet at Saugatuck, plans to plead not guilty to a charge that he sexually assaulted a woman he knew when he next appears in Superior Court in Bridgeport on Jan. 14, 2026, his lawyer said today.

Suozzi, 43, was arraigned Tuesday on a charge of first-degree sexual assault based on a May 25, 2025 incident, and the judge issued a protective order barring Suozzi from contacting the alleged victim. Mark Sherman, Suozzi’s attorney, disputed the woman’s accusations.

“This is a single charge based on a 15-second hookup between two fully clothed and consenting friends,” said attorney Mark Sherman. “We vigorously maintain that these accusations are baseless and baffling given the timeline of events and circumstances. And while he deeply regrets engaging in an extramarital encounter, Dan is adamant that he has done nothing wrong under the law because it was fully consensual.”

Case details

The Fairfield Police Department shared only a heavily redacted version of the arrest warrant with Westport Journal, omitting virtually all the circumstances and details of the encounter between Suozzi and the alleged victim. According to CT Insider, citing the arrest warrant, the alleged victim told police that the incident took place at the home of Suozzi and his wife. According to the account, the woman said she had spent the afternoon on a friend’s boat with several couples, including Suozzi and his wife. She recalled that they drank on the boat “but not to excess.” They then ate at Rowayton Seafood in Norwalk, returned to the boat and later met up with more friends at the Sunset Grille, also in Norwalk. 

From there, they went to the Suozzis’ home, where Suozzi made inappropriate sexual comments while the woman was in a hot tub. After she left the tub to change in the master bedroom, Suozzi pushed her against a wall and assaulted her until she pushed him away.

Back downstairs, she told another friend about the incident. She said Suozzi continued to act “weird” and “inappropriate,” but did not appear drunk.

The woman said she initially tried to “bury” what happened. She came forward after learning that Suozzi “wasn’t taking the incident seriously.” Weeks after the incident, she told Suozzi’s wife about it, who, she said, was supportive and apologetic.

Suozzi turned himself in to Fairfield Police on Nov. 20 following a monthlong investigation by that department. After being charged, he was released on $50,000 bail.

Suozzi was a founding partner of Roan Development Ventures, which proposed the Hamlet development, one of the largest projects ever considered in Westport, earlier this year. He attended almost every Planning & Zoning Commission meeting to discuss the controversial plan. After the commission rejected the development proposal over the summer, Roan sued to overturn the denial and proposed an alternate plan to create 400-500 residential units on the same site under the state’s affordable housing law, 8-30g.

Suozzi is no longer listed on the Roan Development Ventures website.