Now the ex-boyfriend of Herman Cain accuser Sharon Bialek has come forward and confirmed her account of sexual harassment.

Victor Zuckerman said today he backs ex-girlfriend Sharon Bialek’s allegation that Herman Cain “touched her in an inappropriate manner.”

Zuckerman, a pediatrician, came forward after Cain last week denied knowing Bialek.

The GOP presidential candidate, who has been roiled by accusations of sexual misconduct for two weeks, said the incident Bialek described from 1997 “simply did not happen.”

Zuckerman’s news conference comes as Cain’s wife, Gloria, is set to make her national television debut tonight on Fox News. Gloria Cain says in the interview that her husband “totally respects women.”

Bialek, a Chicago-area woman, came forward last week and alleged Cain put his hand up her skirt and groped her when she asked his help in finding a job. She and Zuckerman say Bialek met Cain several times while she was employed by the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation in the 1990s.

In a statement read to reporters in Shreveport, La., Zuckerman says Bialek went to dinner with Cain in Washington and returned “upset. She said that something happened and Mr. Cain had touched her in an inappropriate manner.”

He later used the term “sexual assault” to describe the incident.

Zuckerman was joined at the news conference by lawyer Gloria Allred, who represents Bialek. The doctor, who described himself as a Republican, said he came forward to “aid the public in evaluating the statements previously made by Mr. Cain and Ms. Bialek.”

He says he was not paid to tell his story. Saying he believes people will try to discredit him and his motives, Zuckerman disclosed that he’s never been sued for malpractice or charged with a crime. He said he has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy but his payments have been made on time.