4th woman: Cain reached up my skirt

Republican candidate faces another accusation of sexual harassment

Posted Nov 7, 2011

Global Post

mytrueamericandream screengrabSharon Bialek discusses what she says was her encounter with Herman Cain.

.A fourth woman, Sharon Bialek, came forward Monday and accused Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain of sexual harassment. She accused him of reaching his hand up her skirt and trying to touch her.

Bialek spoke at a press conference Monday afternoon in New York alongside her lawyer, Gloria Allred.

During the conference she said the sexual harassment happened while Cain was the head of the National Restaurant Association. Bialek had been employed by the association's education foundation, and when she lost her job, she sought help from Cain, Politico reports.

Bialek said she met Cain at a bar at the Capital Hilton in Washington, D.C., in 1997. He offered to help her find a job, but he allegedly shocked her by putting his hand under her skirt and trying to touch her.

"He suddenly reached over and put his hand on my leg, under my skirt and reached for my genitals," she said, as reported by USA Today.

He then allegedly grabbed Bialek's head and "brought it towards his crotch."

She said she said to him, "What are you doing?"

He responded by asking if she definitely wanted a job.

The Huffington Post reported that Cain's campaign immediately denied the accusations and called the claims, "false."

Earlier, Bialek's lawyer, Allred, told the press conference, "It is time to hold politicians to a higher standard. We need to know the truth about those who are running for office."

"Enough is enough. We have to fight back," she said.

In the past week, reports have surfaced of three other women accusing Cain of sexually harassing them when he was the head of the association.

Cain has denied the accusations and spent the weekend attempting to move past the claims and refocus his campaign according to his agenda.

"We’re getting back on message, end of story,” Cain said to reporters Saturday night, as reported by The New York Times.

When reporters tried to question him after a debate with Newt Gingrich, Cain said: “Don’t even go there."

Allred said Bialek is not filing a lawsuit or sexual harassment claim against Cain.

This article originally appeared on GlobalPost.