Cynthia Mirella Ore (born 1970s) is a

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; ...

woman who gained brief notoriety in the second half of 2005 and during the

2006 midterm election The 2006 United States elections were held on Tuesday, November 7, 2006, in the middle of Republican President George W. Bush's second term. Democrats won control of both houses of Congress, which was the first and only time either party did so ...

, as a result of her widely publicized extramarital affair with

Pennsylvania's 10th congressional district Pennsylvania's 10th congressional district is located in the south-central region of the state. It encompasses all of Dauphin County as well as parts of Cumberland County and York County. The district includes the cities of Harrisburg and Y ...

Representative

Don Sherwood Don Sherwood may refer to: * Don Sherwood (politician) (born 1941), American politician * Don Sherwood (DJ) (1925–1983), American radio personality * Don Sherwood (cartoonist) (1930–2010), American cartoonist and illustrator {{hndis, Sherwo ...

. She subsequently accused Sherwood of abusing her during their relationship. In court documents and press interviews, Ore said she met Congressman Sherwood at a

Young Republicans The Young Republican National Federation, commonly referred to as the Young Republicans or YRNF, is a 527 organization for members of the Republican Party of the United States between the ages of 18 and 40. It has both a national organization ...

meeting in September 1999. Ore was 23 years old and Sherwood was 58 when they began a "close romantic and intimate personal relationship", according to a 2005 . Their five-year extramarital affair ended after Ore described several instances of physical abuse by the congressman. On the afternoon of September 15, 2004, Ore locked herself inside the bathroom of Sherwood's Washington, D.C. apartment. She used her cell phone to make an emergency call to police. When authorities arrived, Ore reported that she had been choked by Sherwood. The congressman told police he was only giving her a backrub. Initially, no charges were filed. Their relationship soon ended—though Ore has stated that Sherwood remained in contact with her. Sherwood initially denied the affair, stating that Ore was merely a "casual acquaintance". After a was leaked to the press in 2005, Sherwood publicly admitted his lengthy affair with Ore, but denied her reports of abuse. Ore filed a $5.5 million lawsuit against Sherwood in June 2005. The suit was settled out of court on November 8, 2005, but the terms of the monetary settlement have never been made public. In an interview with a

Wilkes-Barre Wilkes-Barre ( or ) is a city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Luzerne County. Located at the center of the Wyoming Valley in Northeastern Pennsylvania, it had a population of 44,328 in the 2020 census. It is the seco ...

newspaper

Ore said she was born to a wealthy family and grew up in

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal , national_motto = "Fi ...

. Various news stories in 2005 and 2006 gave her age as 29 and mentioned in passing that, in 2001, she had been an intern for U.S. Representative

Bill Shuster William Franklin Shuster (; born January 10, 1961) is an American politician and lobbyist who served as the U.S. representative for from 2001 to 2019. He is a member of the Republican Party, and is a son of former Congressman Bud Shuster. In ...

, another Pennsylvania Republican, but left after two days. Newspapers also reported that she was said to be taking business classes at

Johns Hopkins University Johns Hopkins University (Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1876, Johns Hopkins is the oldest research university in the United States and in the western hemisphere. It consiste ...

and, in 2006, had changed her name.

References

External links

"Rep. Sherwood and the 911 Call"
Case study in ethics at Pennsylvania State University.
"Count on Me" Ad
In a 2006 television spot, Don Sherwood explains his affair with Cynthia Ore. {{DEFAULTSORT:Ore, Cynthia People from Maryland 1970s births Living people