‘I did not want to live anymore’: A fifth woman accuses Eric Swalwell of sex attack

Former Rep. Eric Swalwell was hit with another sexual assault allegation.

A fifth woman came forward Tuesday to detail her experience with him.

“I would never have engaged in a consensual sexual encounter with Eric Swalwell,” California resident Lonna Drewes said at a news conference.

She said that he raped her in 2018. She said she now plans to report the incident to law enforcement.

Her story echoed those of other women, whose accusations of sexual assault forced Mr. Swalwell this week to quit Congress and end his campaign for the California Democratic gubernatorial nomination.

Ms. Drewes said that Mr. Swalwell drugged her and then choked and raped her in a hotel in Southern California.

“And while he was choking me, I lost consciousness,” she said with her attorneys present. “I thought I died.”

Allegations against Mr. Swalwell surfaced Friday, and several women came forward over the weekend to accuse him of sexual misconduct, including a rape allegation from a woman who worked in his congressional office.

Mr. Swalwell resigned from Congress as lawmakers from both parties prepared for a vote to expel him.

Ms. Drewes said that she was working as a model and owned a fashion software company based in Beverly Hills when she met Mr. Swalwell. After a few friendly encounters with him, she said that he “offered me connections to further my software company.”

On the third encounter, the two met at a restaurant, where she said she believes he drugged her drink, before they were slated to attend a political event. He then said he needed to stop by his hotel room, she said, claiming he needed some paperwork before heading to the event.

Upon making it to his room, she said that she could not move her arms or body. Mr. Swalwell then raped and choked her, she said.

“I did not consent to any sexual activity,” Ms. Drewes said.

She said that she did not have any contact with Mr. Swalwell afterward. While she did not file a police report and did not undergo a rape kit, she disclosed the assault to confidants, recorded the events in her handwritten calendar, and documented it via therapy sessions at a sexual assault center in Connecticut.

This had a “profound impact on my mental health,” she said. “I did not want to live anymore.”

In announcing his resignation from Congress on Monday, Mr. Swalwell denied accusations of sexual assault but admitted to making “mistakes.”

“I am deeply sorry to my family, staff, and constituents for mistakes in judgment I’ve made in my past,” he said on social media. “I will fight the serious false allegation made against me. However, I must take responsibility and ownership for the mistakes I did make.”

His denial did not stop numerous calls from his congressional colleagues demanding that he resign from office.

Ms. Drewes said that she did not come forward earlier because she was afraid.

“Fear of his political power, his background as an attorney, and his family law enforcement ties,” she said.

Attorney Lisa Bloom said that her journal entries, text messages and photographs will be included in the imminent report to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.

The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office previously opened an investigation into one of the sexual assault allegations that allegedly took place in New York. The House Ethics Committee also began an investigation.