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Raisin’ Cain: GOP presidential candidate stands accused, again

A former National Restaurant Association employee is the fourth woman to accuse GOP presidential front runner Herman Cain of sexual harassment in the past week.   

 

Fernando Alfonso III

Tech

Posted on Nov 7, 2011   Updated on Jun 3, 2021, 1:35 am CDT

A fourth woman has come forward with sexual harassment claims against current GOP presidential front runner Herman Cain, and Twitter can’t get enough of the sordid details.

In a press conference about an hour ago, former National Restaurant Association employee Sharon Bialek and her high-profile lawyer Gloria Allred described the alleged sexual encounter and encouraged Cain to “come clean” regarding the actions.

According to Bialek, the two met 14 years ago in Washington, D.C., to discuss job opportunities at the association. (Cain served as president of the association at the time.) After dinner at an Italian restaurant, they took a car to the NRA offices. While parked outside the offices, Bialek claims that Cain sexually assaulted her.

“He suddenly reached over and put his hand on my leg, under my skirt and reached for my genitals,” Bialek said at the press conference. “He also grabbed my head and brought it to his crotch.”

Bialek and Allred have been top trending topics on Twitter over the last few hours, collecting more than 4,000 mentions combined, according to Topsy, a social media search engine.

Most of the tweets have been spreading the news while others added their own opinions on the matter.

“I certainly hope latest-Cain-accuser Sharon Bialek doesn’t think Gloria Allred by her side enhances her credibility,” tweeted @pbcliberal.

“Sharon Bialek is a COURAGE WOMAN !!! AS WELL as a GR8 American !!!” tweeted Rebecca Fountain (@rebecca1naz).

Over the last week, Cain has come under fire for several sexual harassment claims from staffers at the NRA. Cain “disputed the allegations at the time” and has “continued to deny that he sexually harassed anyone, though he acknowledged that one woman filed a complaint and received a settlement,” according to the Washington Post.

In a fresh statement following Bialek’s press conference, Cain’s campaign added, “All allegations of harassment against Mr. Cain are completely false. Mr. Cain has never harassed anyone,” reported CNN.

Photo by Gage Skidmore

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*First Published: Nov 7, 2011, 5:35 pm CST