Democratic congressional candidate Bernadette Greene-Placentia details a violent sexual assault that occurred while she was repairing campaign signs in Arizona.
Bernadette Greene-Placentia was working alone on a roadside campaign sign at 2 a.m. on a Friday this past summer when her life shifted violently. A long-haul trucker running for Arizona’s 8th Congressional District seat against Republican Rep. Abe Hamadeh, she was struck in the head from behind, falling instantly into unconsciousness.
She woke to a nightmare. A man was sexually assaulting her. In the haze of the attack. she recalled him muttering words that sounded like “-ic b*tch. not a very good f*ck.” She suspects the first word may have been “Democratic. ” though she cannot be certain. A second man soon approached. but after Greene-Placentia kicked at him. he dismissed the assault. remarking. “Not even worth it. ” before both attackers fled.
What followed for Greene-Placentia remains a fragmented, terrifying blur. She found herself back at her Sun City apartment, though she has no memory of the drive. The physical toll was severe; she suffered extensive bruising. persistent vaginal bleeding for three days. and symptoms consistent with a concussion. She did not seek professional medical care.
For two days, she went silent. When her campaign aides finally reached her, they recognized something was profoundly wrong. By Sunday, she confessed the assault to her team, and the following day, she told her husband.
Initially, the trauma brought a desire to retreat. “It’s just these little tiny flashes of things that I do remember,” she said. “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 felt embarrassed and hoped to simply move on.
Her perspective changed two weeks later when she walked into the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office to file a report. She concluded that the silence she was keeping stood in direct opposition to the platform she presented to voters. “I need to let women know that it’s okay to talk about it,” she said. “We’re asking people to stand up and donate or volunteer. We’re asking those folks to be uncomfortable. as Secretary of State Adrian Fontes says; then I have to be willing to be uncomfortable too.”.
The Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office confirmed that an investigation into the incident remains active.
Bernadette Greene-Placentia Arizona 8th District Abe Hamadeh sexual assault Maricopa County Sheriff