Because of Donald Trump, I'm speaking up publicly for the first time about being sexually assaulted.

Twenty years ago, an elderly tailor in Brooklyn, NY sexually assaulted me. I was 19. I never reported it. Only my closest friends and relatives knew about it until now.

I came in to shorten pants from a hand-me-down suit. The tailor closed the curtains and asked me to take off my jeans. He measured my legs. Then he pulled down my underwear and proceeded to do things that I am not able to share even now.

I didn't scream. I didn't beat him up, even though I was way taller and bigger than him. My brain froze. I thanked him and left. 

A few years later I saw this episode of Friends. While millions laughed, I lost the ability to sleep for a few nights.

I am sharing this now because of the accusations against Trump and because of Trump's response:

Why didn't the writer of the twelve year old article in People Magazine mention the "incident" in her story. Because it did not happen!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 13, 2016

I am sharing this now because of every Trump supporter who is saying, "These are fabricated stories that are politically motivated attacks. If these charges were true, the women would have spoken up before."

I haven't spoken up before. Many reasons not to, even for a man like me. Even against an old shriveled pervert tailor, I didn't speak up. For a woman to speak up against Donald Trump would be infinitely harder.

I didn't say anything 12 or 20 years ago. However, if that pervert tailor surfaced publicly now and tried to run for political office, you bet I would have decided to come forward, just as I did here.