Reade, a former Senate staff assistant had detailed the allegation to someone long ago, exactly how she is describing it now. Reade's former neighbor Lynda LaCasse has gone on the record, telling NPR on Apr. 29 about a conversation Reade had with her nearly 25 years ago regarding the aforesaid assault.
Originally reported by Business Insider, the revelation increases the pressure on Democrats to act in response, requiring Republicans to examine the accusation more openly. According to LaCasse, she had stepped outside her California based home to smoke a cigarette back in 1995 or early 1996, when Reade joined her on her front stoop.
They were emotionally discussing violence, custody issues when Reade mentioned Joe Biden, a man she wasn't familiar with at the time. LaCasse says, Reade told her that Biden had put her up against a wall, and putt his hands up her skirt. In her previous NPR report, Reade said Biden pinned her up against a wall in a Capitol Hill building hallway, performing a despicable act of sexual assault in the spring of 1993.
The Biden campaign says the alleged incident didn't take place, and longtime Biden staffers who she worked for at the time also deny the incident. Pointing NPR to its earlier statement, the Biden campaign remained mum about the latest developments. While Biden has neither confirmed nor denied these allegations, his campaign claims the incident "absolutely did not happen."
LaCasse didn't seem interested in responding to phone calls and text messages from NPR initially, but with little help from Reade, NPP reached was able to get in touch with her, If public records are anything to go by, Reade and LaCasse were neighbors back in the 1990s when they lived in Morro Bay, California.
LaCasse recalls Reade been very upset while telling her about the incident. LaCasse tried to comfort her and even advised her to file a police report. Describing herself as a "very strong Democrat," LaCasse says she supported Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren during the primaries and planned to support Biden in general elections, but she felt it was her duty to share the truth, keeping her politics aside.
Explaining why she voted for someone she thinks assaulted her old friend, LaCasse noted that Biden isn't a bad guy, adding that he is an okay guy and the incident just happened. She stayed tight-lipped when asked about how other voters should consider this allegation as they analyze whether or not Biden should be America's next president.