Another woman accused Eric Swalwell of sexual assault Tuesday, adding to a growing number of allegations against the former congressman.
Lonna Drewes said she met Swalwell in 2018 while living and working in Beverly Hills as a model. She said they met three times, during which Swalwell offered to connect her with contacts who could help her fashion software company.
"On the third occasion, I believe he drugged my drink. I only had one glass of wine," Drewes said. "We are supposed to go to a political event, and he said he needed to get paperwork from his hotel room. When I arrived at his hotel room, I was already incapacitated and I couldn't move my arms or my body. He raped me and he choked me, and while he was choking me, I lost consciousness, and I thought I died."
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Drewes said she did not report the alleged assault to police at the time but confided in people close to her, made notes about the incident and discussed it during therapy for sexual assault survivors. She and her attorney planned to report the incident to police Tuesday.
Drewes said the incident has had a “profound impact” on her mental health and led her to self-medicate.
"I did not want to live anymore," she siad.
Drewes also said she was in a relationship at the time and would not have consented to a sexual encounter with Swalwell.
"I would never have engaged in a consensual sexual encounter with Eric Swalwell," she stated.
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Drewes is one of several women who have come forward this month with allegations of sexual misconduct against Swalwell. Amid the accusations, he dropped out of the race for California governor and officially resigned from Congress on Tuesday.
Swalwell has denied the assault allegations, describing the claims as false, while also acknowledging what he called “mistakes in judgment” in his personal life.
