Democratic congressional candidate Bernadette Greene-Placentia participates in the 2026 AZ Clean Elections debate for the 8th Congressional District in Scottsdale, Arizona, in August.

Arizona congressional candidate says she was raped while repairing campaign sign

A U.S. congressional candidate in Arizona, Bernadette Greene-Placentia, says she was raped by two men while she was repairing one of her campaign signs.

Greene-Placentia said it happened Aug. 14 around 2 or 3 a.m. in the Phoenix suburb of Sun City, according to an incident report from the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office shared by her campaign.


Greene-Placentia reported the alleged rape to the sheriff's office more than two weeks later on Aug. 31, according to the report.

 When it first happened, I didn't want to tell anybody,  she told The New York Times on Wednesday.  I was embarrassed that I couldn't defend myself,  she said.

CNN has sought comment from Greene-Placentia. The sheriff's office is investigating the case, it said Wednesday.

The Democratic candidate for Arizona's 8th congressional district, which includes parts of Phoenix and nearby areas including Sun City, was out putting up and fixing political signage and was hit in the back of her head by two unknown men while walking back to her vehicle, the incident report says.

Greene-Placentia lost consciousness and does not recall how she was hit in the head or how many times, according to the report, which says she and investigators have not been able to determine the exact location of the attack.

She woke up to the pain of one of the men raping her while holding her down, according to the report. She  described having bruises on her arms from being held down. 

The other man then raped her, the report says. She said she also recalls seeing her feet as she fought back by kicking.

Greene-Placentia does not remember what the men looked like or what they were wearing, according to the report.

 She only recalled one of them wearing black boots and having small feet,  the incident report reads.

She recalled to investigators that one of the men said
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