Chicago-area woman: Herman Cain reached under my skirt
By BETH FOUHY and Kim Janssen November 7, 2011 11:30AM
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Updated: December 9, 2011 8:12AM
A Chicago-area woman found herself center stage in the 2012 presidential campaign Monday when she accused Republican hopeful Herman Cain of making an unwanted sexual advance against her more than a decade ago. Sharon Bialek, the first woman to go public with allegations against Cain, said she wanted to provide “a face and a voice” to support other accusers who have so far remained anonymous. “Come clean,” the 50-year-old Mundelein mom challenged Cain, demanding that he confess to any inappropriate behavior with her or other women. Cain’s campaign instantly issued a swift denial. “All allegations of harassment against Mr. Cain are completely false,” it said, saying Cain has “never harassed anyone” and calling the latest allegations “bogus attacks.” Bialek — a former marketing executive and mom to a 13-year-old boy who has spent most of her life in Chicago — said Cain reached under her skirt for her genitals and pushed her head toward his crotch in July 1997. Appearing with attorney Gloria Allred in New York, Bialek said she met with Cain to ask about getting her old job back at the National Restaurant Association when the incident happened in Washington, D.C. At the time, Cain ran the trade group. Bialek said that when she asked Cain what he was doing, he replied, “You want a job, right?” Her allegation marked a dangerous turn in a controversy Cain had tried to end. She described an evening in mid-July 1997 when she had a business dinner with Cain. The two were in a car for what she thought was a ride to an office. “Instead of going into the offices, he suddenly reached over and he put his hand on my leg, under my skirt toward my genitals,” she said. “He also pushed my head toward his crotch,” she added. She said she told Cain to stop, adding that he did. Bialek said she didn’t file a workplace complaint against Cain at the time because she wasn’t employed. She said she informed her boyfriend — an unidentified pediatrician — and a longtime male friend. Allred described Bialek as a registered Republican and a woman with a long and successful work history. She has worked as the co-host of a cooking television show, for Revlon as account manager, as manager and director at the Easter Seal Society, in marketing at WGN Radio and in management at CBS Radio, Allred said. Bialek was employed for parts of 1996 and 1997 at the Educational Foundation of the National Restaurant Association, Allred said. Bialek first met Cain several times during a convention in Chicago, she said. “I want you, Mr. Cain, to come clean,” Bialek said, adding that she met Cain again briefly at a rally in Chicago last month. “Just admit what you did. Admit you were inappropriate to people.” The denial from Cain’s campaign was unequivocal. “Just as the country finally begins to refocus on our crippling $15 trillion national debt and the unacceptably high unemployment rate, now activist celebrity lawyer Gloria Allred is bringing forth more false accusations against the character of Republican front-runner Herman Cain,” it said. “Mr. Cain has never harassed anyone.” Cain spent last week denying allegations by three anonymous women. By the weekend, he said he would not respond to questions about allegations of sexual harassment. The earlier allegations against Cain involved two women who had worked at the restaurant association, both of whom filed sexual harassment complaints. A third woman said last week that she considered filing a complaint against Cain over sexually suggestive remarks and gestures she said included a private invitation to his corporate apartment. Bialek’s fiance, Mark Harwood, said Monday evening that he had learned of the alleged harassment from Bialek on Friday during a dinner to celebrate their fourth year together. Harwood — who was engaged to Bialek last year — said the revelation had come as a surprise but that he was “totally supporting” her. “She’s just trying to do the right thing,” he said, adding that Bialek was not motivated by money or politics. “She has the heart of a lion, and when she saw that there seemed to be a pattern, she felt she had to come forward. “He’s running for the most powerful job in the world, and if he’s capable not only of harassing these women, but also of lying about it, it raises serious questions.”
Fouhy is a writer for the Associated Press and Janssen is a Sun-Times staff reporter.
