Published October 20, 2010

I thought we already had our October surprise?

Candidate Jeff Perry (AP)

A woman illegally strip-searched in Wareham almost 20 years ago, when she was 14, says Congressional candidate Jeff Perry — then a police sergeant — did nothing to help her. The woman, identified as Lisa Allen, released a public statement condemning Perry, a Republican running in the 10th District.

“He had to hear me screaming and crying,” Allen said in the statement. “Instead of helping me, Jeff Perry denied anything happened.”

Perry was never charged or disciplined. An officer he supervised, Scott Flanagan, pleaded guilty to indecent assault.

“Jeff Perry was not an honest police sergeant; he should not be in a position of power,” she said.

Allen’s statement was released 13 days before the election. WBUR’s Lisa Tobin tracked down her attorney, Howard Friedman.

[pullquote align=”right” author=”Lisa Allen”]”He had to hear me screaming and crying. Instead of helping me, Jeff Perry denied anything happened.”[/pullquote]

“I don’t think it’s that she has political leanings and that she has any affection, necessarily, for the other candidate,” Friedman said. “I think she simply, well, she says in her statement, she doesn’t believe that Jeff Perry was good cop.

“The incident upset her when it took place, and it continues to upset her. She’s particularly upset that Jeff Perry can run for Congress after what he did to her.”

WBUR’s Democratic political analyst, Dan Payne, calls this “without a doubt the biggest political story since Brown’s winning Ted Kennedy’s Senate seat.”

Perry has not yet returned our phone call.

Here is Allen’s statement on Scribd:

http://www.scribd.com/doc/39755544/Lisa-Allen-Statement-On-Rep-Jeff-Perry