Arizona Democrat says she was raped fixing campaign sign

Bernadette Greene-Placentia, a Democratic candidate for US Congress in Arizona, says she was raped while repairing a damaged campaign sign, and the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office has confirmed that an investigation is ongoing.

Greene-Placentia told the Phoenix New Times that two men attacked her and that she lost consciousness after blows to the head. She said that when she came to, one man was on top of her and sexually assaulting her.

She said embarrassment kept her from reporting the alleged assault immediately. She told the outlet she became withdrawn, missed a campaign event and reported the assault to the sheriff's office two weeks later.

A representative for the department confirmed to AFP that an investigation was underway and declined to comment further while it continued.

Greene-Placentia later told The New York Times that her memory of the incident was spotty but that she recalled kicking the men until they fled. She said she did not want the alleged attack to overshadow her campaign, which is focused on health care and affordability, as she seeks to unseat Republican incumbent Abraham Hamadeh in November's midterm vote.