A Democratic congressional candidate in Arizona said she was raped in August while out fixing campaign signs along a road in the Phoenix metropolitan area, and she thinks the attack may have been politically motivated.
uncertain
attack → say → area
Bernadette Greene-Placentia, 52, told the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office that she was returning to her car around 2 a.m. on Aug. 14 in Sun City when she was struck in the back of the head and raped by a man, according to an incident report obtained by NBC News.
uncertain
she → tell → News
She said a second man also climbed on top of her before she tried to fight him off.
asserted
she → say → him
Greene-Placentia, who is challenging Republican Rep. Abe Hamadeh in Arizona’s 8th Congressional District, reported the alleged assault to authorities on Aug. 31, more than two weeks after she said it occurred.
asserted
it → challenge → Aug.
Greene-Placentia told police she believed her attackers recognized her as a political figure, according to the incident report.
uncertain
attackers → tell → report
She told NBC News on Wednesday that she recalled hearing one of the suspects saying “ick b----,” which she said in her head filled in as “democratic b----.”
asserted
she → tell → b----
“Bernadette also recalled one of the male suspects stating, “democratic b----,” at some point during the incident but she did not clarify or recall when this may have been said,” the incident report states.
uncertain
report → recall → incident
Greene-Placentia told NBC News that she had little memory of the moments leading up to the attack and did not hear anyone approach her.
asserted
anyone → tell → her
She said she was struck in the back of her head in a way that left a “huge lump.”
asserted
that → say → lump
When she regained consciousness on the ground, she said, one man was sexually assaulting her.
asserted
man → regain → her
She said she then tried to fight off a second man.
asserted
she → say → man
Greene-Placentia said the second man said, “You’re right, she’s not worth it,” before they left, according to the incident report.
uncertain
they → say → report
She added that she does not recall the men’s faces or their appearances.
asserted
she → add → faces
“I don’t know how long I laid there.
asserted
I → know → ?
I don’t think it was very long,” she said.
asserted
she → think → ?
“And then I remember looking up, I guess I had rolled over, and my car was only like three yards away.”
asserted
car → remember → ?
“All I can remember is their feet, their pant leg,” she later added.
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she → remember → ?
“It’s frustrating.”
asserted
It → ’ → ?
Her campaign manager confirmed to NBC News that Greene-Placentia and others on the campaign often go out in the middle of the night to repair and put out campaign signs to avoid the heat and traffic.
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Placentia → confirm → heat
Greene-Placentia said she returned home after the alleged attack but does not remember the drive.
asserted
she → say → drive
According to the incident report, she did not seek medical treatment or undergo a sexual assault forensic examination.
uncertain
she → accord → examination
She told police she took three showers and a bath immediately after the sexual assault.
asserted
she → tell → assault
She told NBC News she initially kept the incident to herself because she was embarrassed that she was unable to defend herself — particularly given the years she spent learning how to protect herself when she was a long-haul truck driver.
asserted
she → tell → herself
“I will tell you, I have pretty good situational awareness,” she said.
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she → tell → awareness
“You’re not a woman in trucking without being aware of your surroundings.
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You → ’re → surroundings
Somebody was pretty f---ing quiet, and they snuck up behind me and hit me on the back of the head.”
asserted
they → sneak → head
Greene-Placentia said she told her husband and communications coordinator about the assault two to three days afterward, according to the incident report.
uncertain
she → say → report
Her husband and communications coordinator recounted to the Phoenix New Times how she told them what happened.
asserted
what → recount → them
“I never imagined that something like this would happen just, you know, miles from my house, and I was embarrassed.
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I → imagine → house
Like, ‘Oh my God, I couldn’t defend myself,’” she said.
asserted
she → defend → myself
“So I didn’t want to tell anybody.”
asserted
I → want → anybody
Her landlord, who asked to remain anonymous out of respect for her privacy, told NBC News she encountered an “extremely shaken” Greene-Placentia a few days after the alleged incident on the driveway as she was leaving to have dinner with a friend.
asserted
she → ask → friend
She recalled Greene-Placentia was “visibly trembling” and “appeared as though she might have difficulty remaining on her feet.”
uncertain
she → recall → feet
“I asked her, ‘Are you OK?’
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you → ask → her
At that point, I saw her visibly compose herself and change her demeanor,” the landlord said.
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landlord → see → demeanor
“She told me that she was upset about the lack of support she felt she was receiving from the Democratic Party.
asserted
she → tell → Party
We had a brief conversation about that as she went into the garage to access her apartment.”
asserted
she → have → apartment
The landlord added that she remembered being struck by how shaken Greene-Placentia had appeared and did not know what was causing that reaction.
asserted
what → add → reaction
She added that she does not want to speculate on her state of mind or about anything she did not personally witness.
asserted
she → add → anything
“My concern is for Bernadette and for treating her with dignity and respect as she deals with an extraordinarily difficult experience,” she said.
asserted
she → treat → experience
…and 17 more, not listed.
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