Hossen Sohel: The first woman to accuse US Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh of sexual misconduct has said the assault “drastically altered” her life, reports BBC.
It is part of the written testimony Prof Christine Blasey Ford has released before she appears at a crucial Senate panel hearing later yesterday.
Judge Kavanaugh, who will also testify, has strenuously denied the accusation.
However fresh allegations, which the judge also denies, have appeared as the hearing looms.
Judge Kavanaugh’s confirmation to the highest US court has been delayed in the wake of the allegations against him.
The nine-member Supreme Court is the final word on US law, including highly contentious social issues and challenges to government policy.
What will Prof Ford say?
In written testimony provided ahead of Thursday’s Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, Prof Ford says: “It is not my responsibility to determine whether Mr Kavanaugh deserves to sit on the Supreme Court. My responsibility is to tell the truth.”
She alleges Mr Kavanaugh tried to drunkenly remove her clothing, pinned her to a bed and groped her at a party when she was 15 and he was 17.
“Brett’s assault on me drastically altered my life. For a very long time, I was too afraid and ashamed to tell anyone the details,” she wrote in her prepared statement.
“I tried to convince myself that because Brett did not rape me, I should be able to move on and just pretend that it had never happened.”
She says Mr Kavanaugh and his friend Mark Judge locked her in a bedroom during a small gathering at a house in Washington DC suburbs in the summer of 1982.
“Both Brett and Mark were drunkenly laughing during the attack,” she said. Mr Judge has disputed the allegations, saying he does not recall the incident.