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Arizona congressional candidate Bernadette Greene-Placentia says she was raped while repairing campaign signs late at night in a car park in her district.
Greene-Placentia, a Democrat, told the BBC that she was knocked unconscious in the August 14 attack in Sun City, a Phoenix suburb, and woke to find a man on top of her. She filed a report with the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office two weeks later.
Her Republican opponent, Abraham Hamadeh, urged authorities to investigate the allegations thoroughly, including by locating any available footage from the area at the time. Hamadeh is seeking a second term in office.
Greene-Placentia told the Phoenix New Times that she had felt “embarrassed” and initially wanted to forget what happened, but decided to speak out in support of other victims. She said she could not campaign on fighting for Arizonans without also standing up for women who had experienced sexual assault.
She said she did not see a doctor or undergo a sexual assault examination after the alleged attack. Her recollection was incomplete, and she said she did not get a clear look at the assailants. The New York Times reported that she described them as white men.
Greene-Placentia also said she was unsure whether one of the men had referred to her political affiliation alongside a misogynistic slur. She expressed concern that voters might regard her account as a political stunt, or that the allegations could distract from her campaign’s focus on affordability.
After the attack, she said, she withdrew from public life for two days, stayed in an apartment apart from her husband and missed a campaign event. The Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office investigation is ongoing, according to a spokesman cited by the New York Times.
