Arizona congressional candidate says she was raped while repairing campaign sign
Arizona congressional candidate says she was raped while repairing campaign sign
EDITOR’S NOTE: This story contains graphic details of sexual violence.
A US congressional candidate in Arizona, Bernadette Greene-Placentia, says she was raped by two men while she was repairing one of her campaign signs.
Greene-Placentia said it happened August 14 around 2 or 3 a.m. in the Phoenix suburb of Sun City, according to an incident report from the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office shared by her campaign.
Greene-Placentia reported the incident to the sheriff’s office more than two weeks later on August 31, according to the report.
“When it first happened, I didn’t want to tell anybody,” she told The New York Times on Wednesday. “I was embarrassed that I couldn’t defend myself,” she said.
CNN has sought comment from Greene-Placentia. The sheriff’s office is investigating the case, it said Wednesday.
The Democratic candidate for Arizona’s 8th congressional district, which includes parts of Phoenix and nearby areas including Sun City, was out putting up and fixing political signage and was hit in the back of her head by two unknown men while walking back to her vehicle,** **the incident report says. Greene-Placentia lost consciousness and does not recall how she was hit in the head or how many times, according to the report, which says she and investigators have not been able to determine the exact location of the attack.
She woke up to the pain of one of the men concluding intercourse while holding her down, according to the report. She “described having bruises on her arms from being held down.”
The other man then raped her, the report says. She said she also recalls seeing her feet as she fought back by kicking.
Greene-Placentia does not remember what the men looked like or what they were wearing, according to the report.
“She only recalled one of them wearing black boots and having small feet,” the incident report reads.
She recalled to investigators that one of the men said “democratic b*tch” at some point during the incident, the report states. But, on Wednesday, she said she could not be sure what she had heard, according to The New York Times.
The incident report says that she did not take any pictures of the bruises on her body or the bump of her head following the incident.
She told deputies that “immediately after the sexual assault, she went home and took three showers and a bath.” Greene-Placentia did not go to a hospital or get a Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE) exam.
“I asked Bernadette if there was any DNA left on her clothing, which she stated she has washed the clothes since then,” an investigator wrote in the incident report.
Both men remain “truly unknown,” the report adds.
“I look back and it’s like, why didn’t I go to the hospital?” she told CNN affiliate KNXV. “I’d always considered myself a strong person, and so I was embarrassed.”
The Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office followed up with Greene-Placentia on September 1, and she provided more details of her injuries.
She explained she was struck on the left side on the back of her head, which had a significant bump on it. She also had three vertical bruises that appeared to be in the shape of a hand on her left arm, according to the report.
Greene-Placentia also stated she experienced vaginal bleeding for two to three days following the assault. She also told the sheriff’s office her assailants may have been White males.
“She did not recall if the male subjects left by foot or got into a vehicle,” the incident report says.
According to the report, she did not tell anyone of the incident until two to three days later, when she talked to her husband, Alexander Placentia, and two campaign staff members.
After the initial reluctance to speak out, Greene-Placentia felt she would be a “hypocrite” if she didn’t go public, she told The New York Times.
“I don’t want my campaign to be about this,” she said to the newspaper, “but women need to know it’s OK to come forward.”
“Speaking publicly about what happened has been incredibly difficult for Bernadette,” campaign spokesperson Craig Beckman said in a statement to CNN on Wednesday. “She chose to share her story because she knows many survivors struggle in silence, and she hopes that by speaking about her experience, others will know they are not alone.”
Greene-Placentia’s political opponent, incumbent US Rep. Abraham Hamadeh, said in a statement to the Times that law enforcement should “investigate these serious allegations thoroughly, including finding all possible camera footage of the time and place, in order to prosecute the crime to the fullest extent of the law.”
Greene-Placencia told KNXV she hopes speaking out will help other survivors.
“I believe very strongly in women’s bodily autonomy, and I was angry that these men used their physical size to take that autonomy from me,” Greene-Placentia said. “Speaking up was me taking it back.”