AZ CD-8 candidate says she was sexually assaulted while repairing campaign sign

PHOENIX — EDITOR’S NOTE: This story contains details of an alleged sexual assault that some may find triggering. Viewer discretion is advised.

An Arizona Congressional candidate says she was sexually assaulted in August while repairing her campaign signs in the West Valley.
 
“The first couple of weeks after, I was very angry,” Bernadette Green-Placentia, Democratic candidate for Arizona’s 8th Congressional District, said. “I was just so mad, after being a long-haul truck driver for 27 years, across 4 million miles, I had taken care of myself, and for something like this to happen so close to home, I was just furious.”

The Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office confirms there is now an active investigation in connection to the incident.
 
Greene-Placentia is now opening up about the night she says she was attacked and raped.

Hear Bernadette Greene-Placentia in her own words from the full sit-down interview below:

AZ CD-8 candidate Bernadette Greene-Placentia recounts sexual assault while fixing campaign signs

 
“It’s hard. It really makes me think of why other women don’t come forward,” she told ABC15 in a one-on-one interview.
 
The Democratic Congressional candidate says she regularly repaired campaign signs damaged by monsoons at night to avoid traffic and the heat.
 
“Usually I would go out with my husband, a staffer,” she said.
 
But she says she was alone around 1 a.m. on August 14, when she went to repair a sign near 99th Avenue and Bell Road in Sun City.
 
Greene-Placentia believes she was hit in the head and lost consciousness.
 
“Then it was like, wait a minute. I’m on the ground, and then I feel sharp pain down there. And I open my eyes, and there’s a guy climbing off me,” Greene-Placentia said.
 
She says a second man approached too.
 
“I started fighting, and then he just was like, ‘Ah, it’s not worth it,’” she said.
 
Then, both men took off. Greene-Placentia says she was left bruised and experiencing gaps in her memory.
 
“I look back and it’s like, why didn’t I go to the hospital?” she said. “I’d always consider myself a strong person, and so I was embarrassed.”
 
Greene-Placentia reported the alleged assault on August 31. When asked, MCSO stated that they cannot release the paperwork or comment until the ongoing investigation is completed.
 
Greene-Placentia is challenging Republican incumbent Abe Hamadeh for the 8th Congressional District seat to serve cities like Peoria, Surprise, and Sun City.
 
Rep. Hamadeh sent a statement to ABC15, saying:
 
“I have read the disturbing story and call upon authorities to 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. No American should become a victim of a crime in their own community.”
 
As for whether she believes she was targeted because of her campaign, Greene-Placentia says she doesn’t know.
 
“Maybe I was recognized, but I think it was probably a crime of opportunity. I just don’t have a way of knowing,” she said.
 
Her campaign says it cannot afford additional security, but is taking extra precautions.
 
Greene-Placentia says she does not want the attack to define her campaign, but hopes speaking out helps 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.”