“I had been telling him these words, like: ‘No, don’t,’” she recalled.

“And, the look on his face and realizing what was happening, I just realized that, like, I am in a situation where there’s no consent here,” she said.

Racicot said she tried to separate herself from Platner by telling him she couldn’t be in that room anymore, after which he followed her to her bedroom and had sex with her against her will. She said he also ejaculated inside of her despite her telling him not to, as she was not using birth control at the time.

She went to clean herself up, she said, and when she returned, Platner had fallen asleep. She contemplated waking him up to kick him out, but worried he could hurt someone driving in the state he was in.

The following morning, she said, Platner tried to put his arm around her and she pushed him away. She said she asked him whether he remembered what had happened the previous night; according to Racicot, Platner said he didn’t remember. Racicot said she told him to leave and never contact her again.

Racicot said she waited several weeks until she got her period to ensure she wasn’t pregnant, then sent Platner a private message on Instagram saying that the encounter was not consensual and she did not want to hear from him ever again. Racicot had no further contact with him after that, she said. Racicot said she later deleted all her texts and social media correspondence with Platner as she tried to move on from the assault, and said she has not been able to recover the Instagram messages she sent him about the incident.

In the weeks after the alleged assault, Racicot said she considered going to the police but struggled with shock and confusion about what had happened to her and did not file a police report. Even as time passed, she said she felt uncomfortable potentially telling a police officer about such a personal experience, and feared retaliation from Platner. At first, she confided only in her therapist, who she continues to see.

Racicot showed POLITICO recent emails with her therapist in which Racicot explained she was talking to the media about her relationship with Platner and the “sa/rape,” using an abbreviation for sexual assault. In the message, Racicot was not ready to go public and was seeking help corroborating her account in conversations she was having with reporters on condition of anonymity. Her therapist responded that Racicot shouldn’t have to speak publicly about a traumatic incident in order to be believed, without referencing details of any particular incident. The therapist, who POLITICO agreed not to name at her request, declined to comment when reached on Monday.