Greene-Placentia reported the alleged assault to police two weeks later

Bernadette Greene-Placentia, a Democratic candidate for a Phoenix-area congressional seat, publicly alleged Wednesday that she was raped on August 14 while walking across a parking lot just after 2 a.m. to repair a damaged campaign sign.

The candidate first shared her account with the Phoenix New Times, a local publication. According to the newspaper, Greene-Placentia was trying to fix the sign when an attacker struck her on the head, causing her to black out. She told the Phoenix New Times she awoke to find a man on top of her, raping her.

Greene-Placentia said a second man then pushed her leg. She swung her foot at him, she recalled, and the man said, “Not even worth it.” The two attackers then left, leaving her face down in the parking lot.

She told the newspaper she did not remember picking herself up or returning home. “It’s just these little tiny flashes of things that I do remember,” Greene-Placentia told the Phoenix New Times. “As much as I don’t want to remember, I’ve tried very, very hard to remember more stuff. But that’s where I’m at.”

She said she may have suffered a concussion and that her body was covered in bruises. She initially chose not to report the assault, she told the newspaper, because she felt “embarrassed” and wanted to forget what had happened.

Greene-Placentia told her husband and campaign staff about the alleged assault days after it occurred, the Phoenix New Times reported. She reported the alleged assault to the Maricopa County sheriff’s office about two weeks later. The newspaper said it had interviewed relatives, friends, campaign staff and her landlord about the aftermath of the incident.

In a statement to the Guardian on Wednesday, a campaign spokesperson said Greene-Placentia had decided to speak publicly to support other sexual assault survivors.

“Speaking publicly about what happened has been incredibly difficult for Bernadette,” the spokesperson said. “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.”

The spokesperson added: “She hopes the focus remains on supporting survivors and making sure people who have experienced sexual violence know they are seen, heard and supported.”

State representative Stephanie Simacek, a friend of Greene-Placentia, told the Phoenix New Times that the candidate told her of the alleged assault in early September.

“I felt sick to my stomach, and it was extremely disturbing,” Simacek said. “It was a big wake-up call for me. I think oftentimes, as candidates and electeds, we think that it’s not going to happen to us.”

A spokesperson for the Maricopa County sheriff’s office declined to comment, citing the ongoing investigation.

Greene-Placentia said she decided to go public in part because she often spoke on the campaign trail about fighting for Arizonans, and felt she could not keep doing so without also fighting for sexual assault survivors.

“I need to let women know that it’s OK to talk about it,” Greene-Placentia said.

Greene-Placentia, a trucker and small-business owner, is running in a district that includes parts of Phoenix against the Republican incumbent, Abraham Hamadeh.

Support resources for sexual assault survivors are available from RAINN in the US at 800-656-4673.