Politics & Government

(Updated) 4th Woman Speaks Openly About Cain Harassment Today

Herman Cain accuser Sharon Bialek spoke alongside her attorney Gloria Allred Monday afternoon. She is the fourth woman to make sexual harassment allegations against Cain, who grew up on Atlanta's West Side.

Sharon Bialek, the fourth woman to accuse Republican presidential hopeful Herman Cain of sexual harassment—and the first to reveal her name and speak publically—appeared alongside her attorney Gloria Allred at a press conference on Monday.

According to Bialek, Cain—who grew up on Atlanta's West Side—exhibited inappropriate behavior when he was serving as head of the National Restaurant Association, a story posted at 1:58 p.m. on HuffingtonPost.com reported.

Bialek said in the story that the alleged incident in question occurred down the street from the NRA headquarters. Describing what happened she said, "Instead of going into the offices, he suddenly reached over and put his hand on my leg, up my skirt, and towards my genitals." She recalled that when she protested the advances, Cain said, "You want a job right?"

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According to a HuffingtonPost.com report posted at 1:05 p.m. by Jack Gillum, A former pollster for the restaurant association has said he witnessed yet another episode involving a fourth woman but it is unclear whether that woman is Allred's client.

Cain, who was profiled by Cascade Patch correspondent Yolande Minor last month in "The Herman Cain of Atlanta's West Side," grew up in segregated Atlanta and attended segregated schools, English Avenue Elementary, in the Vine City-English Avenue area, andthe former Archer High School (now part of ) in an industrial, blue collar community on Perry Boulevard. At the age of 10, he joined Antioch Baptist Church, the southwest Atlanta church lead by the influential Rev. Cameron Alexander.

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Cain's father, Luther, worked as a janitor, a barber, and a chauffeur for Robert Woodruff, the president for Coca-Cola. His mother, Lenora, was a domestic worker. One of Luther Cain's high points in life was saving enough money from his three jobs to purchase a modest brick home on Albert Street off Oldknow in the Collier Heights neighborhood.

Cain graduated salutatorian from Archer in 1963 and was chose as both "Best All Around" and "Most Likely to Succeed" by his peers. Cain went on to graduate from Morehouse College in 1967 and a year later married Atlanta resident Gloria Etchison after she graduated from .

News broke in late October that two women had come forward to complain of sexual misconduct by Cain during his tenure as the head of the National Restaurant Association in the 1990s. A third made a similar claim last week.

Cain has repeatedly denied wrongdoing and has called the accusations a "smear campaign" in the week since the disclosure that two women reportedly received financial settlements from the National Restaurant Association in the 1990s after accusing Cain, who led the group at the time, of sexually inappropriate behavior while they were employed there.


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