Cain Accuser Comes Forward, Says Cain Tried to Grope Her

A fourth woman has come forward to accuse Herman Cain of sexual harassment, and her story involves more than hand gestures or words.

Sharon Bialek, who worked for the National Restaurant Association's Educational Foundation in the 1990s as manager of industry relations, said at a press conference in New York on Monday that Cain -- who was CEO of the association from 1996 to 1999 -- tried to grope her after she came to him for help finding a new job.

Bialek said she met Cain at a National Restaurant Association convention in Chicago in 1997 and then contacted him for help after she lost her job a month later, for reasons she did not understand. Her boss told her she had not raised enough money, which confused her because she had raised more money than her predecessor, her lawyer, Gloria Allred, said at the press conference. But because her contract was at-will, she did not have legal grounds to challenge her dismissal.

Bialek's boyfriend, who had been at the convention with her, suggested she contact Cain for help finding a new job, because he seemed to think highly of you. She took his advice and contacted Cain through his secretary, and he agreed to get coffee with her to discuss employment opportunities in other departments of the National Restaurant Association.

Her boyfriend booked her a room at the Capitol Hilton Hotel in Washington, D.C., but when she arrived, she was shocked to find that her room was a palatial suite. At first she thought it was a surprise from her boyfriend, but when she met Cain later that day and mentioned the suite, he smirked and then said, 'I upgraded you,' Bialek recalled at the press conference.

Instead of coffee, Cain invited her to dinner at an Italian restaurant. Afterward, Bialek said, Cain told her he would drive her to the National Restaurant Association headquarters and show her around.

Describes Alleged Incident

But when they got out of the car, instead of going in, he suddenly reached over and put his hand on my leg, under my skirt, and reached for my genitals, Bialek said. He also grabbed my head and brought it toward his crotch.

She resisted, saying, What are you doing? You know I have a boyfriend. This is not what I came here for. Then, she said, Cain responded, You want a job, right?

When Bialek told Cain to stop, he did, she said. He then drove her back to the hotel, at her request, and she did not see him again for years. She told her boyfriend and another friend that Cain had acted inappropriately but did not go into details because, she said, she was embarrassed by what had happened. Then she tried to move on from the incident.

I kept wondering whether he had done to other women what he had done to me and whether anyone was going to speak up about it, she said. I had hoped that for his sake and his candidacy that mine was an isolated incident and that he had not exhibited those behaviors with other women.

Came Forward After Hearing of Other, Alleged Incidents

It was not until she heard that three other women had accused Cain of sexual harassment that she decided to come forward, knowing that hers had not been an isolated incident, she said.

I did not file a complaint against Mr. Cain as these other women did since I was not employed at the Foundation when this occurred, Bialek said at the press conference. But I am coming forward now to give a face and a voice to those women who cannot or do not wish to come forward, and on behalf of all women in the workplace who are sexually harassed but do not come forward out of fear of retaliation and public humiliation.

Allred denied that her client was in it for the money, saying that Bialek had no plans to sue Cain or the National Restaurant Association. She also noted that Bialek is a registered Republican, and Bialek herself said that she very much admired Cain when she first met him.

Bialek did not call for Cain to drop out of the race; she said she just wanted him to admit what he did and move on.

America is in turmoil. We need a leader who can set an example which exemplifies the standard of a person of good moral character, she said at the press conference. Mr. Cain, I implore you: make this right, so that you and the country can move forward and focus on the real issues at hand.

Since Politico first reported on Oct. 30 that two former National Restaurant Association employees had received five-figure settlements to leave the organization after filing sexual harassment complaints against Cain. Cain has vehemently denied ever sexually harassing anybody. He acknowledged one of the two settlements but called the allegations baseless, saying that the only incident he could recall involved him gesturing to his chin and telling an employee that she was the same height as his wife.

After Monday's press conference, Cain's campaign issued another statement, saying, All allegations of harassment against Mr. Cain are completely false. Mr. Cain has never harassed anyone.

The allegations, he maintains, are an effort by his opponents to sabotage his campaign because he is doing so well in the polls.