Fifth Accuser Details Harrowing 2018 Encounter (Image Credits: Pixabay)
Los Angeles — A Beverly Hills woman leveled a serious rape accusation against former U.S. Rep. Eric Swalwell this week, claiming the California politician drugged and assaulted her in a West Hollywood hotel room eight years ago.[1][2] The allegation arrived just as Swalwell stepped down from Congress amid mounting sexual misconduct claims, rattling the state’s Democratic establishment. His attorney responded swiftly and sharply, dismissing the charges as fabrications born of regret rather than assault.
Fifth Accuser Details Harrowing 2018 Encounter
Lonna Drewes, a former model and entrepreneur, described her alleged ordeal during a Tuesday press conference flanked by attorneys Lisa Bloom and Arick Fudali. She recounted meeting Swalwell three times that year for professional discussions, including potential Silicon Valley investor introductions for her fashion software company and talk of her own political ambitions.[2] On their third encounter, Drewes said she consumed one glass of wine before feeling incapacitated, believing Swalwell had spiked her drink.
Drewes alleged that Swalwell took her to his room at the Montrose Hotel under the pretense of retrieving paperwork for a political event. There, she claimed, he raped and choked her until she lost consciousness. “When I arrived at his hotel room, I was already incapacitated, and I couldn’t move my arms over my body. He raped me, and he choked me. And while he was choking me, I lost consciousness. I thought I died,” she stated.[1][3] Drewes disclosed the incident to close contacts and a therapist at the time but delayed public action due to fear of Swalwell’s influence as a prosecutor-turned-congressman with law enforcement family ties…