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WEBVTT KCCI 8 NEWS AT 6:00. STACEY: RAPED IN COLLEGE. MORE REVELATIONS TONIGHT FROM IOWA SENATOR JONI ERNST. TODD: THE HIGH RANKING REPUBLICAN SENATOR PUBLICLY DISCLOSED THE INCIDENT IN A BLOOMBERG NEWS REPORT. IT COMES AFTER AN EMOTIONAL NEWS CONFERENCE WEDNESDAY WHEN SHE SPOKE ABOUT NEW DETAILS OF HER RECENT DIVORCE NOW EXPERTS SAY HER STORY MAY HELP OTHERS WHO HAVE BEEN SEXUALLY ASSAULTED. >> WHAT I WANT TO REMIND EVERYBODY IS THAT I’M STILL THE SAME PERSON AS I WAS A WEEK AGO. THE ONLY DIFFERENCE IS THAT YOU KNOW MORE ABOUT ME NOW THAN YOU DID A WEEK AGO. TODD: IT WAS HARD FOR SENATOR JONI ERNST TO HOLD BACK THE TEARS. IT STARTED WITH NEW DETAILS OF HER DIVORCE AND ACCUSATIONS OF ABUSE BY HER FORMER HUSBAND GAIL ERNST. SHE ALLEGES HE HAD AN AFFAIR AND ASSAULTED HER. HE DENIES IT NOW SHE IS REVEALING MORE TRAUMATIC ABUSE, THIS TIME AS A STUDENT AT IOWA STATE UNIVERSITY. ERNST IS TELLING BLOOMBERG NEWS THAT A BOYFRIEND RAPED HER AT HIS HOME. HE THREATENED TO KILL HIMSELF IF SHE BROKE UP WITH HIM. SHE CALLED THE CAMPUS SEXUAL ASSAULT HOTLINE, BUT DIDN’T CALL POLICE. SHE SAID SHE WAS EMBARRASSED. >> OUR HEARTS GO OUT TO SENATOR ERNST. TODD: KERRI TRUE FUNK IS WITH SEXUAL ASSAULT. SHE SAYS SENATOR ERNST STORY IS ALL TOO FAMILIAR. >> TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHETHER OR NOT TO TALK TO POLICE AND OPTING NOT TO IS SO INCREDIBLY COMMON, AND HASN’T CHANGED MUCH SINCE THE TIME SHE WAS IN COLLEGE. TODD: SHE SAYS, ERNST’S STORY MAY ENCOURAGE OTHERS TO COME FORWARD. >> SOMEONE LIKE SENATOR ERNST TALKING ABOUT IT OPENLY CAN HELP DEMYSTIFY IT FOR PEOPLE WHO HAVE BEEN AFRAID TO DO SO. TODD: ERNST SAYS SHE IS A PRIVATE PERSON AND WAS NOT READY TO DISCUSS HER PAINFUL PAST. BUT NOW, SHE AGREES THAT SHARING IT COULD HEL >> I DO WANT TO ASSURE PEOPLE THAT MAN, WOMEN, IT DOESN’T MATTER, WE HAVE SURVIVORS EVERYWHERE. THAT EVENTUALLY, THINGS CAN BE OK, AND YOU CAN MOVE BEYOND THAT. TODD: SATTRE ERNST SAYS SHE IS PLANNING TO RUN FOR A SECOND TERM IN 2020, AND IF YOU OR SOMEONE YOU KNOW NEEDS HELP, YOU CAN CALL THE VICTIM SERVICES CALL CENTER. THE NUMBER IS 1800-770-1650 OR TAX THEM

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Sexual assault prevention advocates said they empathize with Sen. Joni Ernst, who revealed publicly for the first time that she was raped by a man she dated while attending Iowa State University.Ernst publicly disclosed the attack in an interview with Bloomberg posted online Wednesday night -- hours after she held an emotional news conference speaking about personal details of her recent divorce. Experts said her story of emotional abuse and trauma could help others who may have been sexually assaulted. In the Bloomberg report, Ernst said her boyfriend in college raped her at his home and threatened to kill himself if she broke up with him. She called a campus sexual assault counseling center hotline and ended the relationship but didn't report the attack to police."Trying to figure out whether or not to talk to police and opting not to is so incredibly common and hasn't changed much since the time she was in college," said Kerri True-Funk, associate director of the Iowa Coalition Against Sexual Assault.RELATED: Victim resource centers see spike in calls after Kavanaugh hearingThis week, Ernst spoke about court filings made public describing an "extremely painful journey" that led to her divorce from her husband, Gail Ernst, whom she alleges was abusive.She wrote in an affidavit in her divorce that her then-husband had an affair and assaulted her, allegations that he has denied."I'm still the same person as I was a week ago," Ernst told reporters Wednesday. "The only difference is that you know more about me now than you did a week ago." Ernst's story could help other sexual assault survivors to come forward, True-Funk said, because a public figure like her "can help demystify it for people who have been afraid to do so."The high-ranking Republican senator said she's a private person and wasn't ready to discuss her painful past, but now she agrees that sharing her story can help others."I do want to assure people that men, women -- it doesn't matter, we have survivors everywhere -- that eventually, things can be OK and you can move beyond that," Ernst said.Ernst, who faces re-election in 2020, said she also turned down then-presidential candidate Donald Trump after interviewing to be his running mate, according to a court filing.She said that after Trump interviewed her in 2016 to join his ticket, she turned him down because "it wasn't the right thing for me or my family."She didn't explicitly say if he offered her the job. Ernst has said she'll run for a second Senate term in 2020.If you or someone you know needs help, call the Iowa Victim Service Call Center at 800-770-1650.