Democratic congressional candidate Bernadette Greene-Placentia publicly disclosed that she was raped in August by two unknown men while repairing campaign signs in Sun City, Arizona. The Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office is investigating the attack as the candidate speaks out to support other survivors.
Bernadette Greene-Placentia, a Democratic candidate running against Republican Representative Abe Hamadeh in Arizona’s 8th Congressional District, came forward publicly about the sexual assault after keeping the incident private for more than two weeks.
The reported attack occurred around 2 or 3 a.m. on Aug. 14 in the Phoenix suburb of Sun City. Greene-Placentia, a 52-year-old former long-haul trucker who logged more than 4 million miles before entering public service, frequently went out late at night to put up and repair campaign signage to avoid the punishing Arizona summer heat and daytime traffic.
The Attack and the Investigation by Maricopa County Authorities
According to an incident report filed with the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office, Greene-Placentia was walking back to her running car after fixing a sign when she was struck in the back of the head by two unknown men. She lost consciousness and woke up as one man raped her while holding her down, followed by a second man who she tried to fight off.
A landlord’s security camera established an 85-minute timeline for the night of the attack, but her phone lacked active geolocation settings for campaign privacy reasons, leaving investigators with few leads on local side streets without traffic cameras.
Greene-Placentia reported the assault to the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office on Aug. 31, more than two weeks after it took place. She initially told only her husband, Alexander Placentia, and two campaign staff members after a few days of silence. According to the incident report, she did not seek immediate medical care or undergo a forensic exam.
The Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office stated that it was investigating the incident but could not comment further.
As Greene-Placentia recounted, she did not remember what the men looked like or what they were wearing beyond noting that one of them had small feet and wore black boots.
During the assault, she recalled hearing one of the men mumble something that sounded like “-ic b—-,which she later interpreted as possibly meaning
Democratic b—-.She also recalled hearing the second man say,
You’re right, she’s not worth it,” before the attackers left.
Why the Candidate Decided to Speak Out Publicly
Greene-Placentia explained that she felt like a hypocrite while campaigning and talking to voters about fighting for their rights if she remained silent about her own victimization. She realized that by keeping the attack secret, her assailants maintained power over her.
“I didn’t want anybody to know. I just wanted to move on, and I can certainly understand why women don’t want to tell that their story or what happened. But I also realized that as long as I don’t say anything, then they maintain what — they took that from me, and I wanted to take it back. And speaking out and speaking up for other women — that is me taking it back.”
Bernadette Greene-Placentia, U.S. House candidate
She noted that women want to take responsibility for everything and blame themselves, which she described as a societal problem that society needs to move away from.
Her account was first published by the Phoenix New Times.
Political Motives and Reactions Across Arizona
Investigators and the candidate have explored whether the attack was politically motivated. Greene-Placentia recalled hearing one of her attackers mumble an incomplete phrase during the incident that sounded like -ic b—-
, which her mind filled in as Democratic b—-
. However, she emphasized to reporters that she cannot swear that was what was said and believes it was likely a crime of opportunity because she was out working on signs bearing her face.
Top elected officials across Arizona responded to the news with strong condemnations of violence. Governor Katie Hobbs responded to the news, and Calli Jones wrote that it takes bravery to run for office and to continue a commitment in the face of a personal tragedy.
“We cannot tolerate political or sexual violence in any form.”
Sen. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz
Republican incumbent Representative Abe Hamadeh also called for the perpetrators to be arrested and prosecuted, describing it as a disturbing story and calling upon authorities to investigate the 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.