A woman who turned to Representative Eric Swalwell of California for political help said on Tuesday that he raped her in a West Hollywood hotel, the latest in a series of accusations that have ended his political career and put him in legal jeopardy.
The woman, Lonna Drewes, a model who works in fashion technology, said at a news conference in Beverly Hills, Calif., that in 2018 Mr. Swalwell had promised to take her to a political event before drugging and sexually assaulting her.
The New York Times has not confirmed her account. Ms. Drewes said she told people close to her about the episode at the time it happened, but her lawyers did not make any of them available for comment on Tuesday, saying that they planned to share evidence with law enforcement.
“My delay in taking action against Eric was driven by fear, not doubt,” Ms. Drewes said on Tuesday. “Fear of his political power, his background as an attorney, and his family law enforcement ties.”
Less than two hours after Ms. Drewes’s accusations were made public, Mr. Swalwell’s office said his resignation from Congress would take effect at 2 p.m. Eastern time.
Mr. Swalwell, a Democrat from the San Francisco Bay Area, had been running for governor but suspended his campaign on Sunday after reports by The San Francisco Chronicle and CNN. In those articles, a different woman, whom the news outlets did not name, gave detailed descriptions of several sexual encounters with Mr. Swalwell, including two instances where the woman said she was too intoxicated to give consent. Two other women said Mr. Swalwell sent them unsolicited photos of his penis.
Mr. Swalwell, who is married with three young children, has vigorously denied engaging in sexual misconduct but has apologized for “mistakes in judgment.”
On Tuesday, Sara Azari, a lawyer representing him, said that he “categorically and unequivocally denies each and every allegation of sexual misconduct and assault that has been leveled against him.”
Ms. Drewes said she was living in Beverly Hills in 2018 when she became friendly acquaintances with Mr. Swalwell. At the time, she was interested in local politics and was considering a run for City Council.
Ms. Drewes said that she had socialized with Mr. Swalwell twice, including at a restaurant opening in 2018 where the two were photographed together. At the time, she said she had been in a committed relationship.
Mr. Swalwell had offered to help her make connections, Ms. Drewes said, and the two had planned to attend a political event together.
Ms. Drewes said Mr. Swalwell told her he needed to stop by his hotel room to pick up paperwork beforehand. Before going to Mr. Swalwell’s room, Ms. Drewes said she drank one glass of wine, which Ms. Drewes said she believed Mr. Swalwell had drugged.
“When I arrived at his hotel room, I was already incapacitated and I couldn’t move my arms or my body,” Ms. Drewes said on Tuesday, sitting beside her lawyers, Lisa Bloom and Arick Fudali.
“He raped me and he choked me. And while he was choking me I lost consciousness and I thought I died,” Ms. Drewes said, stressing that she “did not consent to any sexual activity.”
Ms. Drewes said she did not undergo a rape kit or report the episode to the police, but had discussed it with people close to her, written about it in her calendar and later talked about it in therapy.
Rumors about Mr. Swalwell’s conduct with former staff members began to circulate online in recent months, just as he had started to gain momentum as a front-runner in the wide-open race to succeed Gov. Gavin Newsom.
Then came the CNN and Chronicle reports. According to The Chronicle, a former staff member said that Mr. Swalwell had sexually assaulted her in a New York hotel. On Saturday, one day later, the Manhattan district attorney’s office said it was investigating Mr. Swalwell.
The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department did not immediately respond on Tuesday to a request for comment.
Jill Cowan is a Times reporter based in Los Angeles, covering the forces shaping life in Southern California and throughout the state.
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