Christine Blasey Ford, a 51-year-old research psychologist in Northern California, has decided to go public with her story after writing a shocking confidential letter accusing U.S. Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh of sexually assaulting her during a drunken high school party in the 1980s. “I thought he might inadvertently kill me,” Ford told the Washington Post about the moment he allegedly sexual assaulted her when they were students in Maryland. “He was trying to attack me and remove my clothing.” It wasn’t until one of Kavanaugh’s classmates at Georgetown Preparatory School, Mark Judge, intervened by jumping on top of them that Ford was able to escape. Here are five things you should know about the woman bringing up Kavanaugh’s alleged dark past.
1.) She claims she first told someone about the alleged incident back in 2012. Ford explained that she brought it up when she was going to couples therapy and gave the Washington Post therapist notes as proof. Although the notes don’t mention Kavanaugh by name, they talk about how she was attacked by students “from an elitist boys’ school” and they later became “highly respected and high-ranking members of society in Washington.” The notes also explain how she talked about a “rape attempt” when she was in high school. Her husband, Russell Ford, also backs up Ford’s claims and admitted she told him about the alleged incident involving Kavanaugh back in 2012.
2.) Ford said that the alleged sexual assault led to post-traumatic stress disorder. She explained that years after it happened, she started showing symptoms and had increasing anxiety. “I think it derailed me substantially for four or five years,” she said. And before she met her husband, she also struggled with relationships with men. “I was very ill-equipped to forge those kinds of relationships,” she explained.
3.) Although she doesn’t remember some exact details of the incident, Ford believes she was just 15 years old when it happened. Her memory leads her to the summer of 1982 when she was near the end of her sophomore year at the all-girls Holton-Arms School in Bethesda, MD. That would have made Kavanaugh 17 years old and at the end of his junior year at Georgetown Prep at the time.
4.) She decided to go public after her story was leaked because she wanted to be the one to tell it. After recently being approached by reporters, she feared her identity would be exposed but realized she rather come forward and give the public accurate details of the allegation than have wrong details come out. Before going public, she got the help of Debra Katz, a Washington lawyer, and took a polygraph test with the FBI in Aug. The results say she was being truthful about the accusation against Kavanaugh and even though she initially decided to not go public with her identity because she feared potential harassment from those supporting the political candidate, the story leak ultimately made her change her mind.
5.) She says she is willing to testify if asked. “Her recollection of these events is crystal clear,” Ford’s attorney Lisa Banks told Morning Edition. “She will agree to participate in any proceedings that she’s asked to participate in.” Kavanaugh has released a second statement denying the allegations. “This is a completely false allegation,” he said in a statement issued through the White House on September 17. “I have never done anything like what the accuser describes — to her or to anyone.” He issued a similar statement on September 14, before Ford’s identity was revealed. “I am willing to talk to the Senate Judiciary Committee in any way the Committee deems appropriate to refute this false allegation, from 36 years ago, and defend my integrity.”